ANNUAL  REPORT 

-  OF  THE  WORK  OF  - 

AMERICAN  COMMITTEE 

- - FOR - - - 

DEVASTATED  FRANCE 

- -  IN  FRANCE  - 


Comife  'Hmericain 
pour  fes  Regions  ‘Devasfees 
de  fa  Trance 


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1918-1919 


AMERICAN  COMMITTEE 

- FOR  - 

DEVASTATED  FRANCE 


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pour  fes  'Regions  Devasfees 
de  fa  Trance 


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American  Headquarters 
1  6  East  39  th.  Street 
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THE  American  Committee  for  Devastated  France  presents  its  first  report 
under  that  name.  Organized  in  1916  as  the  Civilian  Committee  of 
the  American  Fund  for  French  Wounded  it  became  incorporated 
under  its  present  name  in  the  State  of  New  York  in  March,  1917. 

To  those  who  have  not  seen  its  previous  report  it  may  be  of  interest  to  state 
briefly  the  aims  of  this  Committee. 

Originally  organized  before  America  entered  the  war  it  sought  to  carry  relief 
to  the  civilian  population  of  the  devastated  areas.  To  this  end  it  was  placed 
by  the  Grand  Quart ier  General  in  the  Department  of  the  Aisne,  with  headquar¬ 
ters  in  the  Chateau  of  Blerancourt.  For  the  housing  of  the  personnel  of  the 
Committee  the  French  Government  provided  seven  demountable  barracks, 
similar  to  those  granted  to  the  returning  population.  In  addition  to  this  the 
Committee  built  a  large  wooden  structure  for  its  warehouse  and  another  for 
dispensary,  Ecole  Menagere,  and  basse  cour.  It  worked  under  the  immediate 
control  and  supervision  of  the  Armies  of  these  localities,  and  under  the  patro¬ 
nage  of  M.  Lebrun,  the  Ministre  du  Blocus  et  des  Regions  Lib  Tees,  and  also 
with  the  Prefecture  of  the  Department. 

Nearly  every  one  is  cognizant  with  the  problem  which  these  devastated 
regions  presented  after  the  systematic  and  seemingly  successful  attempts  of 
the  Germans,  not  only  to  destroy  all  the  industries  of  these  regions,  thereby 
eliminating  them  for  decades  from  any  economic  competition  with  Germany, 
but  also  to  render  the  soil  impossible  of  cultivation  and  the  country  incapable 
of  habitation. 

The  French  Government  realizing  that  the  strength  and  morale  of  its  armies 
were  to  a  great  extent  dependent  on  the  well-being  of  the  civilians  in  the  rear 
and  on  the  productivity  of  the  soil,  encouraged  the  civilians,  wherever  and 
whenever  possible,  to  return  to  the  rums  of  their  hemes  and  to  cultivate  their 
soil  —  in  short,  to  re-weave  the  fabric  of  their  former  community  life.  Obviously 


—  3  — 


this  could  not  be  accomplished  with  France  at  war  without  such  aid  and  encour¬ 
agement  as  only  an  organization  such  as  this  Committee,  supported  by  its 
friends  in  America  and  carried  on  by  voluntary  work,  could  provide. 

Our  method  of  procedure  was  given  in  the  official  report  of  the  first  months 
of  the  Committee  s  existence  up  to  Oct.  1st,  1917.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
report  to  sketch  briefly  the  continuation  of  the  work  up  to  the  beginning  of  the 
present  organization’s  fiscal  year  April,  1918,  and  thereafter  to  give  the  details 
in  the  form  of  a  monthly  diary.  Events  followed  so  closely  upon  one  another  ; 
changes,  and  the  necessity  for  readjustments,  came  so  rapidly  that  the  compass 
of  the  work  can,  we  believe,  be  realized  the  better  under  chronological  form. 


PROCEDURE 


A  personal  and  intensive  study  was  made  of  each  family  as  it  returned,  with 
special  reference  to  its  status  before  the  war.  It  must  be  remembered  that  this 
district  was  devoid  of  all  supplies,  and  to  a  great  extent  of  the  necessary  trans¬ 
portation  to  secure  such  supplies.  Therefore  it  was  our  work  to  bring  the  neces¬ 
sary  food,  clothing,  household  utensils,  trade-tools,  agricultural  implements, 
live-stock,  and  seeds  into  the  district  and  to  distribute  them.  This  was  accom¬ 
plished  by  means  of  a  well-organized  motor  service  and  a  corps  of  workers. 
Our  center  at  Blerancourt  had  for  its  field  of  action  the  territory  comprising 
the  villages  of  the  cantons  of  Chauny,  Coucy-le-Chateau,  and  Vic-sur-Aisne. 
In  January,  1918,  another  depot  was  opened  at  Soissons.  The  work  of  these 
centers  consisted  first  in  procuring  a  dwelling  place  for  each  family  authorized 
to  return.  Each  installation  comprised  the  objects  necessary  to  furnish  the 
temporary  homes  found  m  demountable  birracks  provided  Jay  the  Government 
or  in  quarries,  or  in  the  debris  of  former  homes.  The  installation  consisted 
of  beds,  bed  linen,  tables,  chairs,  commodes,  house-hold  linen,  lamps,  stoves, 
kitchen  utensils,  etc. 

Each  member  of  every  family  was  completely  reclothed  upon  his  return  and 
received  afterwards  necessary  gifts  of  clothing  and  food.  In  all  cases  the  com¬ 
plete  installation  including  food  was  given.  But  in  concurrence  with  the  desires 
of  the  people  themselves  and  with  our  own  plan  of  following  the  best  economic 
dictates,  supplies  distributed  afterwards  —  if  purchased  in  France  — -  were  sold 
at  two-thirds  of  their  gross  price,  except  in  cases  where  the  recipient  was  not 
able  to  pay.  All  supplies  sent  from  America  were  given. 

A  well-considered  system  of  records  was  established,  giving  a  minute  histo- 
ryjor  every  family  together  with  communal  records  which  enabled  the  Committee 
to  show  the  gradual  rehabilitation  of  the  communes  through  the  efforts  of  the 


—  4  — 


TYPICAL  SCENE 


American  Committee.  From  these  records  the  following  statistics  are  given  : 


Completely  or  partially  installed  families .  771 

Of  Total  population .  2296 


These  people  were  cared  for  until  they  were  able  to  procure  some  means  of 

livelihood. 

(It  may  be  noted  that  the  general  procedure  of  the  first  months,  in  thisVegard, 
is  that  of  the  present  time.  ) 


AGRICULTURE 


To  encourage  in  the  strongest  way  possible  anything  that  is  concerned  with 
the  productivity  of  the  soil,  agricultural  machines,  farming  implements,  vege¬ 
table  plants,  garden  seeds  and  fodder  were  distributed. 

Because  this  country  was  the  richest  agricultural  land  in  France  —  before 
the  war  producing  three  times  the  average  yield  —  the  question  of  its  rehabili¬ 
tation  as  well  as  that  of  its  people  is  largely  an  agricutural  one.  Therefore,  we 
immediately  put  ourselves  in  touch  with  the  Mission  Agricole  and  successfully 
organized  five  cooperative  agricultural  societies  in  the  villages  of  Blerancourt, 
Camehn,  St.  Aubin,  Morsain  and  Juvigny.  Anyone  knowing  the  extreme 
individualism  of  the  French  farmer  may  realize  what  a  stupendous  undertaking 
this  was.  It  involved  an  intensive  process  of  education  before  it  could  be 
accomplished.  But  the  situation  for  an  individual  was  so  hopeless  that  a  com¬ 
munal  effort  was  necessary.  The  cultivation  of  the  land  began  with  that  which 
could  most  easily  be  operated,  irrespective  of  the  absence  or  presence  of  the 
proprietor. 

First,  the  land  had  to  be  cleared  of  barbed-wire,  debris  or  stones,  the  over¬ 
growth  of  three  years  of  non-cultivation,  and  also  the  trenches  had  to  be  filled 
in.  Horses  and  agricultural  implements  were  almost  impossible  to  obtain, 
even  if  the  farmer  had  the  money  to  expend  for  them.  Unless  the  farmers 
grouped  themselves  they  could  not  reclaim  the  soil. 

After  we  had  formed  the  cooperative  at  Blerancourt,  as  a  special  favor  we 
secured  from  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  one  of  the  Government  batteries  of 
American  tractors  which  was  sent  into  our  region  as  an  experiment.  vUth  the 
cooperation  of  the  Corps  de  Cavalerie,  whose  men  and  horses  were  billeted  in 
our  territory,  the  work  advanced  so  rapidly  that  the  Government  later  sent  two 
additional  batteries,  making  in  all  30  tractors  in  this  district. 

By  December,  1917,  3.000  hectares,  or  approximately  7.500  acres,  were 
ploughed  and  sown. 

This  was  quite  apart  from  the  small  gardens,  each  comprising  from  1  to 


—  6 


16  hectares,  which  we  helped  to  put  under  cultivation  by  procuring  seeds, 
plants  and  garden  Implements  for  the  old  or  sick  men  and  women  and  children 
wh6  were  left  to  cultivate  them.  We  distributed  over  1.269.000  vegetable 
plants  and  over  200  pounds  of  seeds. 

As  the  fruit  trees  had  been  hacked  down  by  the  Germans  in  such  a  way  as 
to  prevent  their  grafting,  7.300  fruit  trees  were  planted. 

Livestock,  goats,  chickens  and  rabbits  were  distributed.  And  a  special 
installation  for  the  incubation  and  raising  of  chickens  was  established  in  the 
village  of  Camelin. 

Under  the  supervision  of  an  expert  gardener,  vegetable  and  flower  gardens 
were  planted  at  Blerancourt,  and  the  children  were  trained  in  the  science  of 
gardening,  each  child  having  his  own  plot  to  cultivate. 

In  recognition  of  the  services  of  the  American  Committee  for  Devastated 
France  in  cultivating  land  in  the  Canton  of  Coucy  in  1917,  the  organization 
was  awarded  the  Grand  Medaille  d’Argent  by  the  Academie  d  Agriculture 
de  France,  and  the  Medaille  de  Merite  Agricole  by  the  French  Government. 


DAIRY 


There  were  no  cows  in  this  region  and  milk  was  impossible  to  obtain  for 
children  or  invalids.  With  great  difficulty  and  at  great  expense  cows  were 
brought  from  Normandie  and  a  model  dairy  was  opened  for  the  purpose  of 
starting  again  the  dairy  industry  and  of  supplying  milk.  Milk  was  given  to 
those  who  could  not  buy  or  sold  to  others  at  the  nominal  rate  of  eight  sous  a 
litre.  Cows  were  loaned  or  sold  to  responsible  persons  in  some  of  our  more 
remote  villages  on  the  understanding  that  they  should  be  properly  cared  for 
and  their  milk  distributed  to  the  people  of  those  villages. 

At  Blerancourt  alone,  60  families  were  daily  supplied  with  milk. 


SCHOOLS 


In  1917  domestic  science  classes  were  opened  in  Blerancourt  for  the  girls 
and  manual  training  for  the  boys  in  Blerancourt  and  four  adjoining  villages . 
Wherever  possible  the  school  buildings  were  repaired  or  some  temporary  place 
found  in  which  the  school  could  be  reopened,  for  most  of  these  schools  had  been 
closed  for  over  three  years.  Inasmuch  as  the  purchase  of  school  supplies  was 


—  7  — 


formally  made  by  the  communes  which  were  then  —  and  are  now  —  destitute  of 
funds  and  of  means  of  transportation,  we  provided  necessary  school  supplies 
Also,  whenever  possible,  we  secured  the  return  of  the  teacher  of  the  village 
through  the  Inspector  of  Education. 


CHILDREN 


It  seems  axiomatic  to  say  that  the  future  of  France  depends  not  only  on  the 
courage  and  energy  of  the  present  generation  but  also  on  the  health  and  strength 
of  the  children.  Much  has  been  written  about  the  effects  of  the  war  on  the 
children  in  these  areas.  But  no  amount  of  writing  could  describe  these  effects. 
It  may  give  some  idea  when  we  say  that  in  January  1918  we  had  in  our  dispen¬ 
sary  at  Blerancourt  children  who  had  seen  their  mother  and  sister  killed  before 
their  eyes  by  a  bomb  dropped  from  a  German  plane  ;  children  with  skin  disease 
due  to  malnutrition  or  practical  starvation  ;  children  with  curvature  of  the 
spine  due  to  the  fact  that  the  Germans  made  them  work  in  the  fields  and  aban¬ 
doned  trenches  for  over  three  years.  Under  the  supervision  of  nurses  and  doc¬ 
tors  of  our  Committee  proper  food  was  provided  and  care  was  systematically 
given  to  the  children  in  our  villages. 

The  children  in  Blerancourt  and  the  nearby  villages  came  to  the  Ecole 
Menagere  opened  in  our  dispensary  and  the  same  courses  were  given  to  classes 
in  other  villages  —  courses  which  would  enable  these  girls  to  take  up  the  burden 
of  their  future  duties  with  a  proper  training. 

Briefly,  this  sketches  our  material  activities  up  to  the  time  of  the  retreat 
m  March,  1918.  It  is  impossible  to  compute  the  results  of  our  work  in  terms 
of  courage  sustained,  hope  engendered,  and  understanding  fostered.  Before 
America  entered  the  war  as  an  active  force  this  Committee  represented  to  the 
people  of  these  regions  the  sympathy  and  understanding  of  the  American  people 
in  the  aims  and  ideals  for  which  the  Allies  were  fighting.  After  our  armies 
joined  their  armies  we  represented  an  ally  and  became  their  comrades.  This 
section  of  France  was  not  only  their  battlefield  and  that  of  the  Allies  ;  it  was 
also  the  battlefield  of  America.  We  knew  the  daily  struggles  of  each  of  these 
victims  ;  we  knew  their  hopes,  their  disappointments,  and  their  tragedies. 
Together  we  tried  to  solve,  to  build. 

We  have  it  on  the  testimony  of  Marechal  Petain  himself  as  well  as  of  many 
members  of  the  French  Staff,  that  this  work  among  the  civilians  contributed 
to  a  great  degree  to  the  high  morale  of  the  Army. 


—  8  — 


9 


HOME  IN  SAINT-PAUL-AUX-BOIS 


In  retrospect  we  realize  that  no  better  foundation  could  have  been  laid  for 
the  tragic  period  following  the  retreat  and  for  the  era  after  the  cessation  of 
hostilities  than  this  firm  understanding  and  trust  that  was  born  and  grew  during 
these  months  of  daily  tasks  mutually  performed  and  daily  problems  mutually 
solved.  On  such  a  firm  foundation  only  can  the  more  permanent  construction 
of  the  present  time  be  built. 


10  — 


MARCH  1918. 


On  March  21st  the  German  offensive  started.  We  were  directly  under  the 
orders  of  the  Army  and  depended  on  them  for  our  orders  of  movement.  The 
swiftness  of  the  invasion  had  completely  destroyed  our  communication  with  the 
civil  authorities.  The  Army  notified  us  they  would  be  glad  if  we  would  remain 
to  help  in  the  evacuation  of  the  villages.  Our  first  anxiety  concerned  the  safety 
of  our  proteges  in  the  villages  near  Chauny  where  the  Germans  made  their 
attack.  We  immediately  sent  two  of  the  Committee  to  these  villages  and  at 
the  request  of  the  parents  some  of  the  younger  children  were  brought  back  to 
our  dispensary  for  safe  keeping. 

On  the  23rd  refugees  from  Marizelle,  Le  Bacq,  and  Bichancourt,  the  villages 
nearest  the  Front,  came  all  the  way  to  Blerancourt  on  foot  to  tell  us  that  the 
inhabitants  of  these  villages  were  to  be  evacuated  the  next  day  and  to  ask  our  aid. 
The  day  was  comparatively  quiet  but  as  a  precautionary  measure  we  sent  the 
small  colony  of  children  in  our  charge  and  a  load  of  supplies  to  Audigmcourt. 

On  the  23rd,  1 .600  refugees  were  evacuated  by  train  from  Appilly.  At  ten 
o’clock  in  the  morning  two  refugees  arrived  at  Blerancourt  from  Le  Bacq  to  tell 
us  that  the  British  had  forgotten  to  evacuate  that  village  and  to  ask  us  to  send  for 
those  that  were  still  there.  After  obtaining  permission  from  the  Army,  we  sent 
our  camions  and  brought  them  to  Blerancourt.  The  Precepteur  or  Tax  Collec¬ 
tor  made  his  headquarters  in  our  Chateau  and  on  their  arrival  paid  the  refugees 
their  pension  rates  a  month  in  advance  to  ensure  them  of  ready  money  as  emigres. 
We  transported  them  to  Compiegne,  which  was  the  clearing  station  for  certain 
designated  refugee  centers  in  the  interior.  In  this  way  all  those  in  our  district 
who  had  no  other  means  of  transportation  were  evacuated  with  their  baggage  by 
our  camions  to  the  stations  designated  by  the  Prefecture. 

Many  of  these  people  having  previously  suffered  the  agonies  of  an  evacuation 
begged  us  to  kee^  -  L  ’^ren,  saying  they  had  absolute  confidence  in  the 
Committee. 

On  the  23th:  ne  situation  became  very  serious  and  we  were  asked  to  be  pre¬ 
pared  to  leave  on  a  moment’s  notice.  Our  work  increased.  Every  effort  was 
made  to  save  as  much  human  life  and  as  many  supplies  as  possible. 

On  the  26th  two  Red  Cross  camions  arrived,  into  which  we  packed  the  con¬ 
tents  of  our  warehouse  which  were  sent  to  Vic  to  be  stored  in  a  building  loaned 
us  by  the  Mayor.  By  this  means  all  the  stock  of  greatest  value  was  saved.  At 
Vic-sur-Aisne  three  members  of  our  Committee  received,  fed  and  started  on 
their  way  South  many  hundreds  of  refugees.  It  was  necessary  to  take  some  of 
those  who  were  too  old  to  continue  their  journey  to  the  hospital  at  Villers- 
Cotterets.  Others  had  to  be  assisted  in  getting  their  papers  for  various  places. 


Not  only  refugees  but  soldiers,  lost  and  seeking  their  regiments,  were  fed  and 
warmed  by  the  members  of  the  Committee  who  were  located  there. 

Good  Friday  and  Easter  were  ironic  days  —  days  of  fighting,  horror  and 
bitterness,  of  sad  sights  and  questioning  wonder,  only  relieved  by  the  medical 
aid  given  to  the  sick,  the  physical  aid  given  to  the  hungry  and  worn,  and  the 
moral  encouragement  to  the  hopeless. 

It  was  our  first  experience  of  real  war.  For  nine  months  we  had  been  opera¬ 
ting  in  a  quiet  sector.  We  had  heard  from  the  lips  of  our  proteges  countless 
terrible  tales  of  suffering.  For  nine  months  every  thought  and  impulse  had 
been  directed  towards  the  rehabilitation  of  lives  still  staggering  from  the  effects 
of  German  cruelty  and  privation. 

Within  twenty-four  hours,  by  virtue  of  our  own  flight  hand  in  hand  with 
them,  we  cemented  and  strengthened  their  confidence  in  us  and  our  hold  upon 
them  and  stood  revealed  as  allies  in  fact  as  well  as  spirit. 


12  — 


APRIL  1918. 


In  addition  to  the  responsibility  we  bore  towards  our  civilian  population, 
the  circumstances  of  war  forced  us  to  assume  a  new  charge.  We  became  an 
“  (Euvre  de  Guerre  ”. 

Vic-sur-Aisne  was  the  railway  terminus,  where  incoming  trains  were  dis¬ 
charging  hundreds  of  soldiers  to  defend  the  heights.  The  Third  Corps  of  the 
British  Army  which  had  occupied  the  territory  adjacent  to  Blerancourt,  was  re¬ 
forming  in  the  rear  near  Vic  and  going  forward  to  the  counter-attack.  Both 
French  and  British  soldiers  were  suffering  physically  and  morally.  The  need 
was  there.  We  met  it  by  establishing  immediately  a  well-organized  canteen  in 
the  ground  of  the  Chateau  of  Vic-sur-Aisne.  Two  rolling  kitchens  were 
immobilized  on  bricks  in  a  small  barrack,  and  from  6.  A.M.  to  midnight,  we 
served  hot  soup,  chocolate  and  coffee  to  thousands  of  soldiers.  Unfortunately, 
no  records  were  kept,  because  the  Committee  was  also  meeting  other  emergencies 
the  most  important  being  to  help  the  many  refugees  who  optimistically  clung 
to  the  region  occupied  by  the  American  Committee,  in  the  hope  that  a  second 
invasion  would  not  occur  and  that  they  might  quickly  return  to  their  homes. 
The  civil  authorities  were  loath  to  give  the  order  for  their  removal,  and  the 
American  Committee  was  forced  to  help  as  best  it  could. 

Our  center  was  reorganized  and  undertook  the  protection  of  the  villages  in 
that  vicinity  up  to  the  South  of  Villers-Cotterets.  These  villages,  which  were 
hitherto  quiet,  rural  spots  were  swamped  by  soldiers  and  refugees  and  a  great 
deal  of  discomfort  and  illness  followed.  The  doctor  in  charge  immediately 
established  six  dispensaries.  Dr.  Kelly  was  alone  at  this  time  and  suffering 
from  a  dislocated  thumb.  Our  reports  are  therefore  incomplete.  She  under¬ 
took,  however,  to  open  the  six  dispensaries  and  at  the  request  of  the  Army 
organized  daily  dispensaries  for  Italian  soldiers  at  7  A.M.,  and  French  soldiers 
at  8  A.M. 

Large  stocks  of  medicaments  for  these  dispensaries  as  well  as  supplies  of 
chocolate  and  coffee  for  canteens  were  vital.  All  transportation[had  been  requi¬ 
sitioned  by  the  Army  for  the  great  defensive  and  it  devolved  upon  the  American 
Committee  to  keep  part  of  its  motor  service  moving  back  and  forth  from  Paris 
in  search  of  these  supplies. 

As  the  need  increased  a  Foyer  du  Soldat  and  another  canteen  for  the  use  of 
the  soldiers  were  opened  at  Vic-sur-Aisne  and  a  Foyer  du  Soldat  with  a  canteen 
at  Moyenneville  and  at  Ambleny. 

More  requests  came  in  from  our  refugees  of  the  cantons  of  Coucy  and 
Chauny  to  take  charge  of  their  small  children.  Therefore,  we  organized  a 
school  colony  at  the  Chateau  of  Coyolles,  where  these  children,  together  with 


13 


those  already  in  our  charge,  were  placed  under  the  direction  of  the  former  head 
of  our  Ecole  Menagere  and  dispensary,  and  of  the  former  instructor  at  Bleran- 
court  who  was  recalled  by  the  Prefecture  and  charged  with  their  instruction. 

An  agricultural  colony  of  refugees  was  also  undertaken  at  Coyolles  and  one 
at  Dampleux.  Movable  barracks  provided  by  the  Government  were  put  up 
for  the  personnel,  and  agricultural  implements  were  furnished. 

As  far  as  possible  we  kept  records  of  the  destination  of  our  refugees  and  at 
the  end  of  the  month  we  sent  delegates  from  the  Committee  to  the  points  in 
the  interior  where  they  were  quartered.  We  found  many  of  them  living  under 
terrible  conditions.  Clothing  and  food  were  distributed  among  these  refugees 
and  efforts  were  made  to  ameliorate  their  condition.  Their  absolute  trust  in 
the  Committee  was  evidenced  by  their  pleas  to  be  allowed  to  return  to  the  De¬ 
partment  of  the  Aisne  where  they  might  be  under  the  protection  of  the  American 
Committee. 

During  this  month  a  depot  was  opened  at  Paris.  The  Mimstere  de  la  Guerre 
offered  two  bararcks  at  the  Entrepot  des  Dons,  Boulevard  Lannes,  and  the  facil¬ 
ities  of  their  services,  which  we  gratefully  accepted  for  our  warehouse  and  ship¬ 
ping  department.  The  refugees  of  the  Aisne  passing  through  Paris  and  those 
staying  in  Pans  or  its  environs  were  here  warmly  received  and  clothed.  Inqui¬ 
ries  were  made  concerning  these  families  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  them  in 
every  possible  way  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  any  abuse,  or  of  distri¬ 
buting  help  unjustly.  Over  one  hundred  people  came  to  this  warehouse  each 
day  and  as  many  as  800  garments  were  distributed  in  a  single  day.  Our  records 


give  the  following  figures. 

Clothing  distributed  on  personal  visit  of  passing  refugees .  2,261 

Articles  of  clothing  sent  directly  to  Interior  to  refugees  who  did  not 

pass  through  Paris .  12,820 

Total  number  articles  of  clothing  distributed  to  refugees  from  May  1st, 

1918  to  April  1st,  1919  .  68,000 


Our  Paris  office  was  opened  at  15  Boulevard  Lannes  and  operated  as  a 
switch-board  for  the  work  m  Paris  and  for  the  two  centers  in  the  field  —  Vic-sur- 
Aisne  and  Soissons. 

Every  effort  was  made  by  the  Committee  to  meet  the  demands  made  upon 
it  by  the  tragic  retreat  —  demands  that  could  only  be  met  by  an  organization 
which  had  its  motors,  its  workers,  and  its  supplies  at  the  veritable  Front. 


14  — 


—  15  — 


OUR  SCHOOL  AT  ST-13  AM  DRY.  —  THE  ONLY  WHOLE  BUILDING  IN  THE  VILLAGE 


MAY  1918. 


The  work  of  April  continued  through  May,  becoming  more  intensified 
wherever  we  were  in  touch  with  inhabitants  of  villages  recently  evacuated  by  us. 
We  were  temporarily  established  at  Vic-sur-Aisne  with  a  definite  center  at  Sois- 
sons  which  had  been  operating  since  January  1st.  From  both  these  centers, 
however,  we  were  called  upon  to  succor  a  great  many  refugees  coming  from  the 
villages  in  the  North. 

As  quickly  as  conditions  permitted  we  resumed  our  former  system  of  records 
adding  to  these  the  new  addresses  and  data  of  our  families. 

The  disorganization  of  our  cooperative  agricultural  societies ,  combined 
with  the  fact  that  many  of  the  members  of  the  various  agricultural  cooperatives 
had  retreated  with  the  American  Committee  to  Vic-sur-Aisne  in  the  belief  that 
the  Germans  would  be  pushed  back  from  their  territory  by  a  quick  counter¬ 
offensive  —  a  belief  which  as  the  days  progressed  seemed  further  than  ever 
from  being  realized  —  caused  the  Government  to  suggest  to  us  that  we  should 
reorganize  the  members  of  the  various  Cooperatives  in  the  region  of  Troesnes 
and  Marizy,  on  a  line  well  to  the  rear  between  Villers-Cotterets  and  Chateau- 
Thierry.  The  possibility  of  a  second  invasion  never  entered  the  mind  of  anyone 
in  authority.  The  month  of  May,  therefore,  was  largely  given  to  planning 
with  the  Prefet  the  proper  site  for  such  a  cooperative,  which  would  not  only 
result  in  wheat  production  but  would  offer  immediate  employment  to  unem¬ 
ployed  men  and  horses. 

It  was  during  this  month  that  the  mutual  agreement  between  the  American 
Women’s  Hospital  and  the  American  Committee  for  Devastated  France  was 
signed  in  America.  This  agreement  provided  that  a  medical  unit,  to  be  known 
as  the  American  Women’s  Hospital,  should  be  sent  to  France  to  work  as  a 
distinct  entity  but  in  close  affiliation  with  the  American  Committee  for  Devas¬ 
tated  France  ;  that  the  American  Women’s  Hospital  should  maintain  a  hospital 
of  25  beds  for  one  year,  with  its  personnel  of  doctors,  nurses  and  lay  workers, 
including  the  upkeep  of  ambulances,  a  motor  dispensary,  and  the  provisioning 
and  furnishing  of  the  hospital  and  equipment  of  the  dispensary.  The  Director 
of  this  hospital,  aside  from  professional  and  medical  questions,  agreed  to  be 
subject  to  the  official  order  of  the  Commissioner  in  France  of  the  American 
Committee  for  Devastated  France. 

On  the  morning  of  May  27th  disturbing  rumors  reached  the  American 
Committee  of  a  second  invasion  on  the  Chemin-des-Dames  within  25  kilometers 
of  Vic  -sur-Aisne  and  14  kilometers  of  Soissons.  For  ten  days  the  American 
Committee  was  occupied  in  the  sole  business  of  evacuating  civilians  and  tending 
wounded.  Dr.  Tallant  had  recently  arrived  from  America  and  reinforced 


16  — 


'em&mSmm- 


>"um  fiim 


iiii!! 

silt  Hilt 

1 

t  '  A 

LJ 

A  COMMITTEE  DISPENSARY 


Dr.  Kelly  in  her  invaluable  services  of  war  emergency.  The  center  at  Vic-sur- 
Aisne  became  the  Poste  de  Secours  for  the  wounded  brought  down  from  the 
region  of  Coucy  and  Vaux3illon.  Our  motor  service  operated  day  and  night 
and  the  canteen  literally  never  closed. 

On  the  evening  of  Thursday,  the  30th  of  May,  the  Commandant  Major 
of  the  Zone  requested  us  to  evacuate  Ambleny  and  Vic-sur-Aisne.  We  sent 
our  camions  and  two  members  of  our  Committee  to  Coyolles  to  take  the  children 
to  Paris,  from  where  they  were  sent  to  Beaumont-le-Roger  well  in  the  interior. 
We  fell  back  to  Coyolles  moving  in  the  path  and  direction  of  the  retreating 
armies,  and  there  continued  the  evacuation  of  Ambleny,  Fontenoy,  Villers- 
Cotterets,  Morte-Fontaine,  Coeuvres,  Largny,  and  Coyolles.  Some  wounded 
arriving  at  Coyolles  were  sent  to  Ambulance  104  of  the  74th  Division  and  after¬ 
ward  to  Crepy-en-Valois. 

The  nomadic  career  of  the  American  Committee  began  on  the  30th  of  May, 
1918.  The  fiches  and  records  were  carefully  carried  to  safety  and  our  work 
for  sometime  was  to  be  divided  between  small  posts  in  the  field  for  canteen  or 
civilian  service,  and  the  greater  work  that  devolved  upon  the  Committee  of 
taking  care  of  its  refugees  in  the  interior. 


18  — 


JUNE  1918. 


At  Coyolles  we  were  within  six  kilometers  of  the  Germans.  The  wounded 
were  quietly  brought  in  to  the  Poste  de  Secours  of  the  56th  Division,  established 
in  the  cellar  of  the  Chateau.  On  Saturday,  June  first,  we  left  Coyolles  for 
Feigneux  and  at  this  place  we  continued  the  evacuation  of  the  civilians  in  that 
region.  We  were  obliged  many  times  to  sleep  in  our  cars  having  no  fixed 
habitation.  Our  doctors  and  nurses  established  themselves  at  Senlis  where  they 
cared  for  both  civilians  and  soldiers.  Soon,  canteens  for  refugees  were  opened 
and  our  doctors  offered  their  services  to  the  military  hospital  at  Senlis. 

From  Feigneux  we  evacuated  Morienval,  Bonneuil-en-Valois  and  Feigneux 
itself.  We  also  established  canteens  on  the  side  of  the  road  for  the  use  of  the 
many  troops  in  that  region.  At  this  time  when  the  passage  of  troops  was  con¬ 
tinuous,  when  all  the  avenues  of  approach  to  the  Front  were  thronged,  such  a 
canteen  was  a  road-side  necessity,  for  there  the  weary  poilu  might  be  refreshed 
by  a  cup  of  hot  chocolate  or  coffee  and  his  coveted  cigarette.  To  meet  this 
situation  each  camion,  loaded  with  necessary  supplies  and  equipment,  and 
usually  carrying  two  girls  of  the  canteen  unit,  would  take  a  given  route,  stop  at 
an  advanced  center,  start  a  fire  for  the  chocolate  or  coffee,  and  serve  without 
pause  a  ceaseless  line.  In  this  fashion,  across  a  rude  plank  to  the  road-side, 
daily,  at  one  canteen  only  as  high  as  7.000  men  were  given  a  warm  drink,  a  ciga¬ 
rette  and  a  word  of  cheer  for  the  long  march. 

For  over  a  year  the  American  Committee  had  been  operating  in  the  territory 
of  the  Sixth  Army.  At  Feigneux  we  discovered  that  we  were  no  longer  in  their 
field  of  action  and  not  having  had  any  relations  with  the  Tenth  Army,  we 
communicated  with  headquarters  and  were  ordered  to  leave  Feigneux.  Four 
days  later  the  Army  removed  our  quarters  to  Jaignes.  A  schedule  of  rolling 
canteens  was  arranged  and  a  canteen  itinerary  developed  that  included  all  the 
accessible  points  of  arrival  and  departure  for  the  front  of  the  sector,  under  the 
order  of  the  Sixth  Army.  Many  times  we  have  wished  that  friends  of  France 
in  America  might  have  been  with  us  in  a  little  town  behind  the  lines  in  France 
that  had  long  since  been  evacuated  of  its  civil  population,  and  was  then  filled 
with  French  soldiers  and  Colonials  of  every  hue,  standing  with  outstretched 
hands  before  a  steaming  kettle  and  packages  of  cigarettes.  As  the  scope  of  the 
work  grew,  we  increased  our  stock  of  supplies  —  adding  tablet  chocolate,  pipe 
tobacco,  daily  papers  for  the  remote  posts,  writing  paper  upon  request,  and 
milk  for  the  sick. 

Adhering  to  our  aim  of  assisting  the  civilian  population  of  the  Department 
of  the  Aisne  and  at  the  request  of  the  Prefecture,  we  established  a  center  at  Viels- 
Maisons,  Aisne,  just  south  of  Chateau-Thierry  to  look  after  the  living  conditions 
of  the  inhabitants  and  refugees  in  the  few  remaining  non-invaded  villages.  Our 
presence  there  was  considered  a  vital  necessity.  The  people  knowing  that 
we  were  under  the  protection  of  the*  Army,  regarded  us  as  a  barcmeter.  Our 
calm  residence  prevented  any  panic  for  they  realized  that  if  danger  ceme  we 


19 


would  quickly  get  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  We  immediately  moved  the  very 
old  and  the  ill,  as  well  as  the  younger  children,  to  safer  places,  feeling  that  this 
was  an  expedient  precaution.  Between  the  9th  and  25th  of  June,  over  75  of 
these  people  were  evacuated  by  our  camions  wrhich  carried  them  to  their  desti¬ 
nation  or  to  the  nearest  railway  station. 

There  was  not  a  civilian  doctor  left  in  the  26  communes  of  the  Aisne,  nor  a 
pharmacy.  Therefore,  at  two  central  points  —  Viels-Maisons  and  Artonges  — 
we  organized  dispensaries  which  were  open  twice  a  week. 

The  most  vital  problem  to  the  whole  district  was  undoubtedly  the  question 
of  food.  The  railroads  had  to  be  used  for  military  purposes.  The  Prefet  of  the 
Department  asked  us  to  assure  food  to  the  4.000  inhabitants  who  remained 
in  the  Department  for  the  purpose  of  looking  after  the  harvests.  Within  two 
days  we  had  8.000  kilos  of  food  stuffs  which  were  systematically  apportioned 
to  the  different  communes.  We  gave  blankets  and  clothing  in  addition  to  food 
as  the  people  were  living  under  crowded  conditions,  sleeping  in  stables  and  con¬ 
gested  in  the  cottages  of  the  farm  laborers.  This  work  was  continued  until  the 
Ministry  of  Ravitaillement  was  able  to  take  it  over. 

j 


FARMS 

At  the  time  of  the  retreat  and  evacuation  the  farmers  who  had  been  members 
of  the  Cooperatives  naturally  turned  to  us  fcr  further  assistance.  With  the 
exception  of  24  communes,  the  Department  of  the  Aisne  at  this  moment  was 
entirely  invaded.  The  problem  here  presented  comprised  more  than  the  care 
of  our  refugee  farmers.  Many  farms  in  the  interior  had  been  abandoned 
during  the  war  because  of  the  mobilisation  of  proprietors  and  laborers.  Food 
production  was  a  vital  necessity.  The  Committee  therefore  deemed  it  well 
to  rent  some  farms  m  the  interior  and  to  establish  agricultural  colonies. 

The  Villeneuve-la-Huree  farm  of  about  570  acres  (210  hectares)  was  first 
brought  to  the  attention  of  the  Committee  by  M.  Cormier,  Director  of  the 
Agricultural  Cooperative  at  Bleranccurt.  When  evacuated  frcm  our  farm  at 
Ccyolles  he  came  with  his  family  and  three  ethers  who  had  been  working  for 
him  to  this  farm,  where  he  had  spent  several  months  in  1914.  The  lease  of  the 
tenant  had  expired,  and  as  he  had  lost  ail  his  sons  at  the  Front,  he  did  not  have 
the  courage  to  continue.  The  farm  was  leased  b  /  the  Committee  at  65  francs 
a  hectare  and  M.  Cormier  was  appointed  its  manager.  To  the  small  nucleus 
of  our  own  refugees  from  the  North  were  quickly  added  others  who  had  been 
vainly  seeking  in  the  Seme-et-Marne  work  and  food  for  their  animals  and  lodg¬ 
ing  fcr  themselves. 

Small  houses  suitable  for  housing  members  of  the  Colony  were  rented  in 
the  nearby  villages,  and  every  family  was  installed  and  outfitted. 

A  small  magasin  was  started  for  the  distribution  of  clothing,  kitchen  utensils, 
etc.,  to  those  who  had  lost  everything  m  the  retreat.  Inasmuch  as  the  men  were 
receiving  5  francs  a  day  and  the  women  3  francs,  after  the  first  distribution  the 
goods  were  sold  on  the  same  basis  as  in  our  supply  D.ipot  at  Blerancourt.  Al¬ 
though  this  was  a  farming  district,  the  question  of  food  was  a  difficult  one,  as 
the  farms  raised  only  enough  vegetables  for  their  own  consumption  and  a  trip 
to  market  meant  the  loss  of  half  a  day  s  pay.  We  therefore  secured  food  sup¬ 
plies  also  for  distribution. 

During  the  month  of  June  and  also  July  this  group  constituted  an  important 
colony  in  which  the  62  men,  women  a^d  children  benefitted  and  the  able-bodied 
men  and  women  were  employed  m  the  care  of  the  animals  and  in  harvesting 


—  20  — 


21 


AMERICAN  TRACTOR  WORKING  ON  FIELDS  OF  BLERANCOURT  COOPERATIVE 


the  hay  and  fodder  growing  on  the  land.  When  the  Germans  were  pushed 
back  from  the  Marne  those  from  that  Department  naturally  rushed  back  to 
their  own  farms  to  save  what  they  could  of  their  harvests,  but  their  places  were 
quickly  filled  by  other  refugees. 

This  experiment  in  communal  farming  by  refugees  promised  to  give  suffi¬ 
ciently  interesting  results  to  justify  the  Committee  m  extending  the  experiment 
still  further. 

Through  the  recommendation  of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  we  secured 
the  services  of  M.  Binet  who  had  organized  the  Juvigny  Cooperative.  M.  Binet 
possesses  a  thorough  knowledge  of  all  conditions  of  the  soil  and  of  stock,  together 
with  a  knowledge  of  the  intricacies  of  French  law  and  the  policy  pursued  by^ 
the  Ministry  of  Agriculture  for  the  rehabilitation  of  farms.  He  selected  for  us 
two  farms  in  the  Eure-et-Loire,  a  Department  rich  in  agricultural  production 
and  one  which  has  always  played  an  important  part  in  the  raising  of  stock.  One 
farm  of  250  acres  is  located  at  Bretouville,  the  other  of  125  acres  at  La  Troche.. 
The  object  of  the  Committee  was  not  only  to  provide  work  for  the  refugees  but 
to  help  them  to  raise  something  with  which  they  could  rehabilitate  themselves 
when  they  returned  to  their  own  Department  of  the  Aisne,  such  as  seeds  and 
live-stock,  and  also  to  provide  agricultural  implements  that  could  later  be  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Department  of  the  Aisne. 

The  Committee  invested  its  own  funds  on  the  expectation  —  later  fulfilled  • — 
that  it  would  benefit  by  the  law  of  May  4th,  1918,  known  as  the  Compere-Morel 
law,  which  provides  for  government  advances  up  to  1 .000  francs  per  hectare 
for  the  cultivation  of  abandoned  or  partially  abandoned  farms.  Also,  we  were 
able  to  take  advantage  of  an  arrangement  made  by  the  Agricultural  Department 
to  place  with  farmers  herds  of  cows,  and  flocks  of  sheep,  the  progeny  of  which 
should  belong  to  the  farmer  as  well  as  the  profits  to  be  derived  from  the  sale 
of  the  milk  and  the  sale  of  wool. 

M.  Auguet  who  had  been  foreman  for  the  Administration  Building  Asso¬ 
ciation  of  the  Department  of  the  Aisne,  was  made  farm  manager  of  Bretouville^ 
for  we  found  that  in  common  with  all  our  Aisne  people  he  shared  the  extraor¬ 
dinary  understanding  of  farming  that  is  instinctive  and  traditional  to  them. 
Mme  Auguet  was  made  overseer  of  all  interior  domestic  machinery  for  the  Colo¬ 
ny  which  was  run  on  a  communal  basis.  The  superintendent,  the  carpenter 
and  painter  and  the  overseer  of  the  chicken  and  rabbit  farms  were  each  chosen 
for  his  particular  ability  along  a  special  line,  a  knowledge  of  which  was  well 
known  to  us,  as  they  were  refugees  from  our  own  villages. 

The  farm  of  La  Troche  was  put  under  the  management  of  one  of  our  refugees 
from  Audignicourt  —  M.  Milhem.  He  had  owned  a  large  farm  there  and  imme¬ 
diately  upon  his  release  from  captivity  in  Germany  he  came  to  us. 

Barracks  were  ordered  for  the  housing  of  the  other  refugees  and  our  farm 
colonies,  which  later  developed  such  tangible  results,  were  well  started. 


AGRICULTURAL  UNIT 


A  group  of  eight  American  women  possessing  a  knowledge  of  American 
farming  reported  at  our  office  on  June  25th.  This  unit  was  requested  for  agri¬ 
cultural  work  in  the  Department  of  the  Aisne,  but  the  retreat  altered  the  circum¬ 
stances  and  an  arrangement  was  made  whereby  the  farmerettes  would  be  given 
training  at  Versailles  under  Captain  Coulter  of  the  U.S.  Army  Garden  Service, 
to  help  in  the  garden  work  of  the  U.S.  Army. 


—  22  — 


JULY  1918. 


AMERICAN  WOMEN'S  HOSPITAL 


The  American  Women’s  Hospital  began  its  life  in  the  Chateau  de  Chemin, 
-at  Neufmontiers,  Seine-et-Marne,  where  the  refugees  who  had  fled  from  the 
North  were  suffering  from  a  severe  epidemic  of  dysentery,  on  account  of  bad 
sanitary  conditions,  bad  water  and  pcor  feed.  The  hospital  and  dispensary 
found  its  need  immediate. 


OUVROIR 


It  was  in  July  that  another  barrack  of  the  Entrepot  des  Dons  was  offered  us 
by  the  Mimstre  de  la  Guerre  to  organize  into  a  work  shop  where  five  refugee 
women  from  the  Department  of  the  Aisne,  who  had  taken  temporary  abode 
in  Paris,  were  given  work  in  cutting  out  garments,  which  were  distributed  to 
other  refugee  women  to  sew  and  bring  back  finished.  These  garments  were 
then  put  on  the  shelves  of  our  supply  depot  and  given  to  the  refugees.  The 
women  were  employed  at  the  rate  of  6  francs  a  day  and  they  cut  on  an  average, 
five  dozen  chemises,  6  dozen  pantalons,  6  dozen  petticoats,  2  dozen  sheets 
1  dozen  children’s  dresses  and  aprons  a  day. 

An  arrangement  was  also  made  by  which  a  Singer  sewing  machine  might  be 
purchased  at  the  rate  of  8  francs  a  month  by  any  one  wishing  to  do  sewing  at 
home.  Thus  was  started  a  small  working  force  of  needy  refugees  that  grew 
until  they  occupied  a  whole  barrack.  This  work  enabled  each  woman  not  only 
to  support  herself  but  often  her  children,  an  aged  parent  or  sister.  In  return 
it  furnished  us  with  garments  which  helped  to  supply  our  increasing  refugee 
needs. 


OUVROIR  REPORT  —  July  8,  1918  -  April  1’st  1919 


Total  No.  workers  given  employment 

Total  No.  articles  made . 

Approximate  value  of  articles . 


23  — 


156 

. . .  26,260 
frs.  337,842 


CANTEENS 


The  14th  of  July  marks  an  epoch  in  the  canteening  of  the  Unit.  With  the 
advent  of  American  troops  in  our  sector  between  Crouy-sur-Ourcq  and  Viels- 
Maisons,  the  canteen  unit  had  the  opportunity  to  help  boys  of  five  different 
American  divisions.  In  one  case  a  Division  detrained  from  box  cars  in  a  town 
where  our  canteen  was  able  to  serve  hot  chocolate  to  men  who  had  had  nothing 
hot  to  eat  for  three  days.  It  might  be  added  here  that  on  account  of  the  passage 
of  troops  from  sector  to  sector  this  particular  canteen  served  45.000  soldiers* 
American  and  French,  in  one  week. 

One  of  the  most  important  services  rendered  by  the  Canteen  unit  was  through 
the  permanent  canteen  at  Changis,  where  at  all  times  of  the  day  weary  soldiers* 
American  and  French,  and  chauffeurs  of  ammunition  trains,  who  often  had  not 
left  the  wheel  for  14  hours,  were  provided  with  hot  coffee,  bread,  sardines,  cake* 
chocolate  and  tobacco. 

As  on  the  4th  of  July  we  had  had  great  festivities  for  the  American  Batta¬ 
lion  quartered  in  Changis  in  which  the  French  participated  with  much  enthu¬ 
siasm,  we  decided  to  duplicate  in  every  respect  the  occasion  on  the  14th  in  honor 
of  the  French  Independance  Day.  Accordingly  a  concert,  which  included  Amer¬ 
ican,  French  and  Italian  talent,  was  arranged  and  presided  over  by  the  Town 
Mayor.  The  festivities  were  at  their  height,  the  rank  and  file  for  the  ice  cream 
had  just  started,  when  orders  arrived  for  two  American  Machine  Battalions, 
that  had  already  contributed  a  gallant  record  in  the  defense  of  Chateau-Thierry* 
summoning  them  to  Headquarters  from  where  they  were  sent  to  the  Front 
within  one  hour.  No  American  present  will  ever  forget  the  dramatic  climax 
to  this  fete. 

Twodays  after  the  launching  of  the  great Franco-Amencan  counter-offensive* 
the  canteen  unit  was  asked  to  render  its  services  in  the  Triages  and  Ambulances 
of  the  sector.  At  the  same  time  we  were  requested  by  the  headquarters  of  an 
American  Division  to  take  care  of  its  wounded  that  were  «  piling  up  »  at  a  certain 
dressing  station.  In  this  way  we  were  able  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  5.230  Amer¬ 
ican  and  French  wounded  in  the  offensive  of  July  14th.  During  this  same 
period  we  sent  our  canteening  camions  daily  in  the  direction  of  the  ever  advanc¬ 
ing  line  to  establish  road-side  canteens  for  the  returning  forces.  On  this  drive 
alone  we  gave  refreshing  drinks  to  39.250  soldiers,  and  cigarettes  to  79.350. 
To  summarize  the  canteening  statistics  contained  in  this  report  : 


Canteens  Established  in  45  Cantonnements. 

Soldiers  served  in  45  cantonnements .  200.150 

Soldiers  served  at  road-side  canteens .  39.250 

Soldiers  served  at  permanent  Changis  canteen . . .  12.500 

Wounded  cared  for . . .  5.230 


Total  number  of  soldiers  served  by  canteen  unit .  257.130 


CHATEAU  -THIERRY 


No  American  needs  to  be  told  of  the  bravery  of  the  American  boys  at  Chateau- 
Thierry.  It  was  the  great  privilege  of  the  American  Committee  for  Devastated 


—  24  — 


25 


CAWTiihSJN  UUK1MU  KtiTKhSAT  UF  19i<5 


France  to  offer  aid  in  that  sector.  On  July  27,  the  Chezy  branch,  which  had 
formerly  been  at  Vieils  Maisons,  was  opened  by  two  membeis  who  established 
themselves  In  a  small  house  on  the  main  street.  Military  canteens  were  started 
in  the  neighboring  villages  wherever  they  were  needed  and  for  two  days  at  a 
French  Poste  de  Succors  at  Essomes  we  gave  hot  coffee  and  cigarettes  to  both 
French  and  American  wounded  passing  in  ambulances  enroute  from  the  field 
to  the  base  hospitals. 

Afterwards  one  member  did  night  duty  at  Chiteau-Thierry  for  the  American 
Hospital  No.  167  where  help  was  desperately  needed  in  caring  for  the  seriously 
wounded  who  could  not  be  moved ;  and  the  other  member  used  her  car  to  trans¬ 
port  the  wounded  from  the  dressing  stations  and  field  hospitals  to  the  hospital 
back  from  the  line,  for  ambulances  were  much  needed  at  this  particular  time. 

A  canteen  providing  hot  chocolate  for  the  childien  of  this  section  was  opened 
every  afternoon  at  4  o’clock.  These  people  had  no  sugar  and  little  food  and 
this  canteen  provided  a  very  material  amount  of  necessary  nourishment  for 
growing  children. 

A  Foyer  du  Soldat  was  started  here  where  the  men  had  games,  bocks  and 
magazines  and  where  10.000  soldiers,  French  and  American,  were  given  coffee, 
chocolate  and  cigarettes  before  starting  for  the  Front. 


AUGUST  1918. 


Henceforth  the  activities  of  the  American  Committee  become  divided  into 
field  activities  and  interior  activities.  Our  field  activities  comprised  the  various 
posts  for  war  service,  that  is,  (1)  road-side  canteens  for  troops,  itinerary  laid 
down  by  the  Army;  (2)  fixed  canteens  of  the  hospital  service  designated  by  the 
Medical  Inspector  General  of  the  Army,  and  (3)  civilian  posts  for  relief  to  the 
population  and  refugees  in  the  southern  limits  of  the  Aisne  Department.  As  the 
Army  advanced  we  were  compelled  to  follow  with  these  posts  of  succor  as  our 
work  either  directly  concerned  the  welfare  of  the  troops  or  the  welfare  of  the 
refugees,  who  followed  closely  upon  the  heels  of  the  troops  in  order  to  reach 
their  fields  m  the  hope  of  being  able  to  reap  some  of  the  still  standing  crops. 


FIELD  ACTIVITIES  -  CHATEALLTHIERRY 


In  August,  therefore,  we  continued  for  a  time  the  canteen  opened  for  Amer¬ 
ican  soldiers  at  Chezy-sur-Marne  and  toward  the  latter  part  of  the  month, 
placed  the  entire  group  of  Changis,  Vieils-Maisons  and  Chtzy,  in  one  central 
group  at  Chateau-Thierry.  This  center  was  established  on  the  very  street 
down  which  marched  that  immortal  band  of  Americans. 

At  the  time  of  the  retreat  the  refugees  left  smiling  fields.  Returning,  they 
were  met  with  the  problem  of  harvesting  their  crops  in  fields  full  of  dangerous 
explosives  and  where  it  was  impossible  to  use  mowing  machines.  Bands  of  men 
and  women  in  each  commune  were  encouraged  to  cut  the  grain  with  scythes. 
This  meant  a  long  and  tedious  task,  working  to  the  very  limit  of  strength,  with 
improper  nourishment  owing  to  the  complete  absence  of  all  supplies.  The 
American  Committee  organized  harvest  canteens  ter  the  civilians  in  place  of 
military  canteens  which  we  had  up  to  this  moment  been  operating  for  the  Army, 
and  from  village  to  village  our  rolling  canteens  were  able  to  supply  the  harvesters 
With  hot  food. 

The  fighting  in  this  section  had  been  open  warfare.  Thousands  upon  thou¬ 
sands  were  killed  and  many  dead  were  still  unbuned.  It  was  a  country  of  flies,  of 
poisoned  wells,  and  of  impure  food.  Into  this  malstrom  of  advancing  armies,  of 
ammunition  convoys,  and  of  devastation,  left  behind  by  the  retreating  Germans, 
the  refugees  poured  hoping  that  in  turn  they  too  could  return  to  their  homes  in 
the  region  of  Soissons  to  save  the  crops.  Community  life  was  entirely  disorga¬ 
nized,  lacking  even  the  elemental  supplies  of  food,  drink  and  shelter.  Primarily  it 


—  27  — 


was  important  to  supply  food  which  they  could  not  obtain.  We  organized  for 
the  first  time  traveling  stores  reaching  50  villages  every  week  on  stated  days. 
These  stores  were  continued  until  it  was  possible  for  a  community  to  start  its 
own  food  shops  which  depended  upon  the  restoration  of  transportation  for 

civic  use. 

A  dispensary  was  opened  in  Chszy  and  in  eight  other  villages  ;  calls  were 
made  in  thirteen  further  villages,  making  a  total  of  twenty-two  villages  cared 
for  by  the  doctors  in  this  month.  These  dispensaries  were  established  in  cen¬ 
tral  places  so  that  the  inhabitants  of  all  the  country-side  could  come.  In  accor¬ 
dance  with  the  advice  of  the  French  officials  they  were  placed  in  villages  destitute 
of  doctors.  Each  day  our  medical  staff  received  or  visited  from  100  to  150  pa¬ 
tients,  many  of  them  children  whose  strength  had  been  depleted  by  lack  of  food 
or  by  improper  food.  It  was  felt  that  unless  we  did  everything  we  could  to 
build  up  their  strength  by  good  food  and  healthy  conditions  France  would  suffer 
for  two  generations  from  the  effect  of  this  war  on  the  children  of  the  devastated 
areas. 


INTERIOR  ACTIVITIES 


The  summer  of  1918,  particularly  the  months  of  July  and  August,  will  always 
be  known  as  the  period  of  greatest  depression  in  France  during  the  war.  Men 
and  women  viewed  the  approach  of  winter  with  increasing  disquietude  and 
hopeless  terror.  Hundreds  of  appeals  were  made  to  the  Committee  to  find  some 
refuge  for  the  children  during  the  wintermonths.  Ourlittle  colony  at  Beaumont- 
le-Roger,  where  we  were  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  a  Patronage  offered  to  the 
Committee  by  the  Countess  de  Boisgehn,  did  not  permit  of  any  expansion,  so  it 
became  imperative  to  find  more  space. 


CHILDREN'S  COLONY  -  BOULLAY-THIERRY 


In  August  we  secured  through  the  French  Government  a  mediaeval  chateau 
at  Boullay-Thierry  in  the  Eure-et-Loir  for  a  larger  Children’s  Colony.  It 
must  be  remembered  that  these  children  are  all  refugees  from  the  Department 
of  the  Aisne  and  have  lived  under  German  domination  during  which  time  they 
were  deprived  of  all  educational  advantages.  They  are,  therefore,  below 
par  both  physically  and  mentally,  and  are  in  great  need  of  special  training. 
This  chateau  had  been  empty  for  some  time  and  was  in  need  of  repairs  and  such 
installation  as  would  be  necessary  to  house  and  hygiemcally  care  for  100  children. 

The  education  of  the  children  is  under  the  instructor  who  had  been  with 
them  since  Blerancourt  days,  appointed  by  the  Inspector  in  Chief  of  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  the  Aisne.  He  has  as  his  assistants  two  primary  school  teachers,  one 
kindergarten  teacher,  one  domestic  science  teacher  for  the  girls  and  a  carpentry 
teacher  for  the  boys. 

Oar  proteges  are  not  orphans  who  should  be  the  wards  of  the  State,  but  in 
every  case,  their  fathers,  if  living,  were  either  mobilized  or  prisoners  and  their 
mothers,  if  living,  were  unable  to  support  them  under  the  present  abnormal 


—  28  — 


29 


NURSERY  CORNER  IN  CHILDREN’S  COLONY  AT  BOULLAY-THIERRY 


conditions.  A  trained  nurse  is  in  constant  attendance  and  an  infirmary  is 
provided  for  the  segregation  of  all  sick  children.  In  a  very  real  way  this  chateau 
is  a  half-way  house.  We  believe  that  it  is  a  garden  in  which  will  bloom  some 
of  the  new  youth  of  France,  whose  fate  it  has  been  to  know  the  horrors  of  war, 
but  whose  duty  and  privilege  it  is  to  pass  on  through  their  generation  the  sacred 
flame  borne  by  their  fathers. 

We  are  especially  grateful  to  our  American  friends  who  have  responded 
to  the  pathetic  appeal  of  these  children.  By  careful  management,  a  child  can  be 
supported  in  the  colony  for  four  hundred  dollars.  The  many  advantages  of 
the  Colony  and  especially  the  intensive  training  gives  each  child  an  opportunity 
to  regain  his  normal  vigorous  mental  viewpoint  and  a  healthy  physique  in  pre¬ 
paration  for  the  future.  A  special  effort  has  been  made  to  remove  all  morbid 
influences  and  to  surround  each  child  with  the  traditional  color  and  teaching 
of  a  normal  French  child. 


AGRICULTURAL  UNIT 


During  this  month  the  farmerettes  were  formally  attached  to  the  garden 
service  of  the  American  Army.  This  service  in  Versailles  was  made  up  of  Class 
B  or  C  men  and  the  work  of  this  unit  not  only  included  actual  garden  work  from 
7,30  in  the  morning  until  5,00  o’clock  every  night  —  ram  or  shine  —  but  also 
the  more  important  work  of  raising  the  morale  of  the  soldiers  who  were  put 
hors  de  combat. 

The  experiment  of  having  the  farmerettes  work  with  the  men  was  such  a 
success  that  the  officials  recommended  that  it  should  be  tried  on  other  farms 
which  the  American  Army  was  planning  and  organizing. 


-  30  — 


SEPTEMBER  1918. 


On  September  3rd.  General  Degoutte,  commanding  the  Sixth  Army,  deco¬ 
rated  with  Croix  de  Guerre  and  Palm,  Mrs.  A.  M.  Dike  and  Miss  Anne  Morgan, 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  American  Committee  for  Devastated  France. 


Following  is  a  translation  of  the  citations  : 

«  During  a  period  of  more  than  a  year,  has  consecrated  her  energies  and  with 
most  admirable  devotion  and  great  intelligence,  has  recreated  homes  devastated 
by  the  enemy  in  the  reconquered  territorv.  » 

«  During  the  offensives  of  the  end  of  March  and  the  end  of  May,  1918,  was 
obliged  to  leave  the  territory  under  her  protection  which  the  enemy  was  invading 
to  destroy  for  the  second  time  but  retreated,  step  by  step,  only  after  all  civilians 
had  been  evacuated,  and  always  under  the  fire  of  the  enemy.  » 

«  During  all  this  period  the  work  was  distinguished  by  most  energetic  and 
courageous  assistance  to  military  and  civilian  authorities  in  aiding  in  the  evacua¬ 
tion  of  the  inhabitants,  the  protection  of  the  children^  ransportation  or  numerous 
French  wounded,  under  fire,  to  the  interior,  and  assuring  ravitaillement  to  isola¬ 
ted  troops,  in  the  front  line,  by  a  system  of  rolling  canteens.  » 

«  Since  the  offensive  of  July,  has  helped  the  inhabitants  to  reestablish 
themselves  in  their  homes,  and  furnished  them  means  by  which  to  live,  has 
continued  to  conduct  rolling  canteens  in  the  most  exposed  parts  of  the  front 
with  untiring  devotion  caring  for  the  wounded  and  for  the  soldiers  returning 
from  the  front,  always  in  the  first  field  of  combat.  » 

«  Added  to  this  has  enormously  contributed  in  maintaining  to  a  high  degree 
the  morale  of  the  civilians  of  the  department  of  the  Aisne  and  the  combatants 
of  the  Sixth  Army.  » 


—  31 


BEFORE  THE  COMMITTEE  WORKMEN  ARRIVE 


33 


HOUSE  REPAIRED  BY  COMMITTEE 


From  M.  Lebrun,  Mimstre  du  Blccus  et  des  Regions  Liberees,  came  a 
letter  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  : 


MINISTERE  DU  BLOCUS 
ET  DES 

REGIONS  LIBEREES 


Paris,  12  September  1918. 


REGIONS  LIBEREES 


Madame  la  Presidente, 


The  citation  in  the  order  of  the  day  of  the  Army  of  which  you  and  Mile  Morgan,. 
Vice-President  of  your  "Comite  Americain  pour  les  Regions  devastees  de  la  France",  have 
been  the  recipients,  furnishes  me  the  occasion  not  only  of  addressing  to  you  my  heartiest  feli¬ 
citations,  but  also  of  expressing  to  you  anew  my  gratitude  for  the  admirable  work  which  you 
have  not  ceased  to  follow  in  the  liberated  regions. 

It  is  for  me  a  most  agreeable  duty  at  this  time  to  render  homage  to  your  efforts,  to  your 
devotion,  to  your  perseverance  and  courage,  and  to  the  sympathetic  and  understanding  way  in 
which  you  and  your  collaborators  have  brought  your  material  aid  and  your  moral  assistance  to 
our  unfortunate  people  who  have  been  so  cruelly  tried. 

After  having  contributed  in  reinstalling  them  for  the  first  time  in  their  villages,  after  having 
assisted  them  and  cared  for  them  on  the  route  of  their  exile,  when  they  were  forced  to  flee 
again  before  the  invader,  you  are  now  prepared  to  take  up  with  renewed  ardor  the  work  of 
the  reconstruction  of  their  "foyers",  which  was  so  tragically  interrupted.  I  keenly  desire  that 
you  should  find,  in  order  to  insure  the  continuity  of  your  efforts,  some  proportional 
collaboration  in  the  great  task  that  you  have  so  valiantly  assumed  and  you  may  be  assured  in 
every  case,  Madame  la  Presidente,  that  my  warmest  collaboration  will  not  fail  you  in  your 
enterprise. 

I  beg  of  you,  Madame  la  Presidente.  to  accept  my  most  respectful  homage. 


Le  Ministre  du  Blocus  et  des  Regions  liberees, 
(Signed)  LEBRUN. 


34  — 


OCTOBER  1918. 


We  were  still  in  war.  To  the  East  and  North  the  armies  had  made  strides 
toward  the  frontier.  In  the  Department  of  the  Aisne  the  armies  were  in  the 
region  of  Laon.  Our  sector  was  completely  liberated,  and  following  in  their 
wake  we  returned  to  Vic-sur-Aisne.  Response  was  made  to  an  urgent  call  to 
Laon.  The  American  Women’s  Hospital  advanced  to  Luzancy. 


FIELD  ACTIVITIES  -  VIC-SUR-AISNE 


A  preliminary  survey  was  made  of  the  villages  in  the  cantons  of  Vic-sur-Aisne, 
Soissons  and  Villers-Cotterets  showing  a  total  of  1.500  civilians  returned.  In 
the  first  two  weeks  of  the  work  this  number  increased  to  over  1 .800  ;  two  weeks 
later  the  population  was  3.000,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  destruction  in  some 
places  was  almost  complete. 

A  schedule  of  traveling  stores,  similar  to  those  at  Chateau-Thierry  was  esta¬ 
blished  reaching  52  villages.  The  first  store  was  opened  on  October  14th. 

Four  dispensaries  and  a  system  of  house  visits  were  also  established  thereby 
covering  the  entire  canton  and  some  of  the  more  remote  villages  of  the  canton 
of  Villers-Cotterets. 

In  order  to  meet  the  medical  needs  at  Chateau-Thierry  and  Vic-sur-Aisne, 
our  medical  staff  was  divided.  Dr.  7 allant  remaining  at  Chateau-Thierry  and 
Dr.  Kelly  stationed  at  Vic-sur-Aisne.  An  epidemic  of  Spanish  grippe  was  so 
successfully  combatted  that  not  one  case  was  lost. 


LAON 

Another  new  departure  was  the  establishment  at  Laon  of  two  members  of 
the  transport  service.  As  soon  as  the  French  Army  had  taken  possession  of 
Laon  and  before  the  Prefecture  had  been  able  to  reestablish  itself  there,  we  were 
asked  to  make  a  survey  of  the  recently  liberated  villages  in  the  region  of  Laon  and 
report  all  findings  as  well  as  the  needs  of  the  population  to  the  Prefecture.  This 
work  was  begun  on  October  29th.  At  that  time  the  Germans  had  only  been 
out  of  the  city  ten  days  and  had  moved  only  ten  kilometers  north.  This  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  enemy  left  not  more  than  eight  towns  to  which  we  could  then  carry 
relief.  October  30th  we  reported  with  two  cars  at  the  store  house  of  the  Prefec¬ 
ture. 


—  35  — 


INTERIOR  ACTIVITIES  -  American  Women's  Hospital 


It  had  become  apparent  that  the  American  Women  s  Hospital  at  Neufmou- 
tiers  was  now  too  far  in  the  rear  and  too  removed  from  the  returning  population 
in  the  devastated  area  to  fulfill  its  aims.  There  was  a  crying  need  for  it  in  the 
region  of  ChTeau-Thierry.  The  two  doctors  attached  to  the  American  Com¬ 
mittee  were  overwhelmed  with  work.  At  the  suggestion  of  the  Service  de  Sante, 
Mimstere  de  la  Guerre,  the  American  Women’s  Hospital  moved  into  an  old  cha¬ 
teau  at  Luzancy  near  La  Ferte-sous-Jouarre,  which  during  the  war  had  succes¬ 
sively  been  a  hospital  for  the  Germans,  then  for  the  French  and  six  weeks 
before  their  arrival,  an  evacuation  hospital  for  our  own  American  boys.  Dispen¬ 
saries  were  formed  within  a  radius  of  thirty  miles,  and  a  frightful  typhoid 
epidemic  was  fought  across  the  Marne,  combatted  by  vaccination  and  sanitation. 
The  welcome  arrival  of  a  surgeon  enabled  this  hospital  to  treat  major  and  minor 
surgical  cases  and  a  highly  successful  series  of  operations  for  tonsils  for  all  the 
children  in  the  region  was  earned  out  under  the  able  direction  of  the  Directress 
of  this  Hospital. 


VILLENEUVE- SAINT- GEORGES 


During  the  summer  our  office  in  Paris  operated  as  a  switchboard  between, 
the  field  and  the  interior.  Refugees  from  the  Aisne  stopping  in  Paris  or  those 
passing  through  reported  to  our  supply  depot  and  were  there  aided  and  directed 
to  their  destinations.  It  became  more  and  more  apparent  that  the  question  of 
housing  was  an  acute  one.  In  June,  therefore,  two  members  of  the  Committee 
began  to  search  for  a  house  which  might  be  installed  as  a  hostel  where  Aisne 
refugees  might  have  clean  living  quarters  and  the  opportunity  to  earn  something 
toward  their  support. 

A  Chateau  at  Villeneuve  St.  Georges,  one-half  hour  from  Paris,  large  enough 
to  house  seventy  people,  with  grounds  and  vegetable  gardens,  was  offered  to  the 
American  Committee  by  M.  Duplan  for  one-half  of  its  yearly  insurance.  During 
the  summer  this  Chateau  was  installed.  Also  arrangements  were  made  with  the 
United  States  Salvage  Department  for  work  to  be  given  to  the  refugees.  Thus 
through  funds  donated  by  Baltimore  and  Washington  friends  was  started  an 
enterprise  which  had  its  fulfillment  on  October  14,  when  the  Chateau  was  opened 
to  twenty-one  families,  consisting  of  thirty-eight  adults  and  twelve  children.. 
The  number  was  soon  increased  to  seventy,  the  total  capacity. 

The  cost  of  operation  is  about  3.000  francs  a  month,  for  a  nominal  sum  only 
is  paid  for  rent  and  food. 

The  Ouvroir  turns  out  6.000  kilos  of  work  a  week,  which  is  transported  by 
camions  rented  through  the  Prefecture. 

Positions  were  obtained  in  some  of  the  munition  factories  for  those  who 
could  not  work  in  the  Ouvroir,  and  the  children  were  entered  in  the  public 

schools. 

Through  the  aid  and  generosity  of  American  friends,  it  was  thus  possible  to 
provide  shelter,  heat  and  food  to  seventy  Aisne  refugees,  who  are  here  given 
an  opportunity  for  better  health  and  greater  vitality.  In  addition  they  have 
the  satisfaction  of  feeling  that  they  are  not  objects  of  charity,  but  self-supporting 
and  self-respecting  citizens. 


—  36  — 


—  :> 


7  - 


THE  dentists  at  work 


*•••• 


••••* 


NOVEMBER  1918. 


FIELD  ACTIVITIES  -  LAON 

As  the  enemy  began  their  retreat  we  followed  upon  their  heels,  arriving  at  a 
town  as  soon  as  it  was  liberated  with  supplies  of  condensed  milk,  sugar,  rice  and 
shoes.  The  Prefecture  left  to  our  discretion  the  amount  to  be  given  to  each 
village  ;  therefore,  a  preliminary  visit  was  usually  made^  before  supplies  were 
taken  and  a  report  given  to  the  Prefecture  each  night.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  these  villages  were  only  partially  depopulated  and  that  with  the 
retreat  of  the  Germans,  the  population  was  suddenly  deprived  of  alimentation. 
The  advancing  Army  had  its  hands  full  in  convoying  its  own  food  supplies. 
It  was  therefore  a  critical  moment  and  of  great  importance  for  the  Prefecture 
to  know  the  sources  available  for  food  in  the  rear. 

On  the  1 1th  of  November,  armistice  day,  the  French  Army  had  moved  on 
to  the  very  limits  of  the  Department.  This  opened  up  an  enormous  territory 
for  the  Prefecture.  Lines  of  communication  were  cut  and  the  Government 
possessed  no  means  of  a  proper  survey  of  the  requirements  of  the  liberated  vil¬ 
lages.  The  American  Committee  in  undertaking  this  service  became  the 
official  courier  for  the  Government.  In  addition  to  this  work,  when  the  armistice 
was  signed,  vast  numbers  of  returning  civilian  and  military  prisoners  passed 
through  this  region  and  we  were  again  requested  to  open  canteens  and  vestiare 
for  the  relief  of  these  people.  This  service  increased  so  tremendously  that  we 
were  asked  to  secure  the  cooperation  of  two  sections  of  the  American  Field 
Service  attached  to  the  French  Army  and  left  at  Laon.  The  canteen  during 
its  first  days  served  daily  about  500  starving  men,  many  of  whom  were  tasting 
chocolate  for  the  first  time  in  five  years. 

The  rush  and  congestion  of  repatries  during  the  first  ten  days  resolved 
itself  gradually  into  a  certain  number  that  passed  through  Laon  daily  and  after 
conference  with  the  military  authorities  it  was  decided  to  open  the  canteen  twice 
daily  at  stated  hours.  With  these  reduced  numbers  we  were  able  to  contribute 
to  their  mental  as  well  as  their  physical  comfort,  to  reassure  them  of  the  interest 
of  the  Government  in  their  behalf  and  above  all  to  give  a  word  of  cheer.  When 
the  number  of  repatries  passing  through  Laon  was  reduced  to  100  a  day  we  felt 
that  this  number  did  not  justify  the  maintenance  of  a  canteen.  On  the  special 
request  of  the  authorities,  however,  the  time  was  extended  as  they  would  not 
countenance  our  closing  it  on  account  of  the  moral  stimulus  it  exerted. 

The  signing  of  the  armistice  occasioned  more  joyful  celebration  and  more 
tragic  remembrances  in  our  centers  than  in  the  majority  of  other  places.  These 
people  had  not  only  contributed  sons  and  husbands  and  fathers  to  the  war  ; 
they  had  been  the  victims  of  that  war  in  every  way.  While  to  the  combatants 


—  38  — 


the  armistice  meant  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  to  us  it  meant  increased  activity 
and  new  plans  for  a  more  permanent  rehabilitation  of  this  land  and  of  our 
people. 


CHATEAU  ^THIERRY 

Our  traveling  stores  in  the  region  of  Chateau-Thierry  were  no  longer 
indispensable.  Commerce  had  gradually  been  reestablished  and  it  seemed 
advisable  to  close  this  center,  particularly  as  the  presence  of  the  American  Wo¬ 
men  s  Hospital  covered  fully  the  needs  of  the  medical  service.  The  dispensaries 
of  the  American  Committee,  1 5  in  number,  were  turned  over  to  the  American 
Women  s  Hospital.  Our  medical  staff  statistics  show  the  following  : 

Cases  cared  for  by  this  Committee  between  August  1st  and  November  25th  3,356 


Villages  supplied  regularly  from  rolling  stores .  50 

Articles  of  clothing  distributed .  4,600 


INTERIOR  ACTIVITIES  .  PARIS  OFFICE 


In  the  official  Journal  of  November  5th,  1918,  it  was  publicly  announced 
that  by  mimsteriel  decree  pronounced  November  4th,  the  American  Committee 
for  Devastated  France  was  recognized  and  approved  by  the  French  Govern¬ 
ment. 

On  November  18th,  1918,  at  a  meeting  convened  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Ministry  of  Liberated  Regions  we  became  officially  registered  at  the  Ministry,, 
in  the  Special  Bureau  of  Coordination  of  CEuvres. 

At  this  meeting  which  was  presided  over  by  M.  Bleuzet  the  various  organi¬ 
zations  represented  were  requested  to  confine  their  efforts  to  certain  definite 
sectors  and  we  were  assigned  the  cantons  of  Coucy-le-Chateau,  Vic-sur-Aisne 
and  Soissons  in  the  Department  of  the  Aisne,  exception  being  made  of  the  city 
of  Soissons. 

At  this  point  it  may  be  well  to  state  concretely  in  what  our  cooperation  with 
the  French  Government  consists.  The  policy  of  the  administration  in  France 
has  been  thoroughly  to  familiarize  ourselves  with  the  laws  passed  in  the  interests 
of  the  population  of  the  destroyed  Department  and  to  avail  ourselves  of  the 
various  services  created  by  the  Government  in  the  interest  of  the  liberated 
regions. 

1 .  PURCHASE  OF  SUPPLIES.  —  For  the  purchase  of  certain  food  stuffs 
no  open  market  now  exists  ;  wherever  this  condition  is  present  we  apply  to  the 
Ministry  of  Ravitaillement  for  the  right  to  purchase  the  necessary  supplies 
through  the  governmental  permit  to  requisition.  Such  supplies  as  chocolate, 
coffee,  sugar  and  cigarettes,  to  maintain  our  canteen  service,  were  obtained 
through  the  Intendance  of  the  Army.  Food  supplies  for  the  supplementary 
ravitaillement  of  our  devastated  area,  such  as  coffee,  lard  and  dried  vegetables, 
are  secured  through  the  services  of  the  Ministry  of  Ravitaillement.  Application 
is  made  stating  the  uses  and  designation  of  supplies  and  we  have  been  given  the 
right  to  purchase  limited  quantities  of  the  above  mentioned  articles  as  well  as 
coal,  petrole  and  essence. 


—  39  — 


2.  TRANSPORTATION.  —  Through  the  Ministry  of  War  we  have  been 
^granted  the  right  to  free  transportation  of  supplies  from  Paris  to  our  field 
centers.  In  addition  to  this  it  is  our  privilege  to  transport  by  railway  without 
cost  any  supplies  which  we  may  wish  to  purchase  in  the  interior  of  France 
in  the  way  of  live-stock  or  food.  Our  camionettes  are  provided  with  military 
numbers,  issued  to  us  by  the  Government  and  giving  us  the  right  of  purchasing 
essence  and  spare  parts  at  Government  prices. 

3.  HOUSING  OF  SUPPLIES.  —  Through  the  Ministry  of  War  barracks 
have  been  provided  for  the  purpose  of  our  Supply  Depot  in  Paris.  This  ser¬ 
vice  is  known  as  the  Entrepot  des  Dons.  In  addition  to  this  a  large  barrack  was 
given  us  for  the  purpose  of  an  Ouvrior  in  Paris.  Free  camion  service  of  our 
supplies  from  the  Entrepot  des  Dons  to  the  railway  station  is  also  provided. 

4.  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SUPPLIES.  —  Recently  a  society  has  been 
formed  in  the  Department  of  the  Aisne  known  as  the  Societe  Cooperative 
Mandataire  de  1’Aisne,  which  has  been  authorized  by  the  Ministry  of  the  Libe¬ 
rated  Regions  for  the  purpose  of  buying  at  wholesale  prices  supplies  available  in 
France  for  the  reclaiming  of  the  land.  The  object  of  this  society  is  to  coope¬ 
rate  with  the  Government  to  prevent  the  raising  of  prices  through  competitive 
buying.  Through  this  Societe  we  are  able  to  purchase  all  agricultural  stock 
and  supplies  at  the  lowest  price.  Where  stock  or  supplies  exist  only  in  limited 
quantities,  our  cooperation  with  this  society  is  a  distinct  advantage  to  the 
American  Committee. 


FARM  COLONIES 

We  secured  as  a  gift  from  Mr.  Henry  Ford  two  Fordson  tractors,  wmch  have 
been  the  only  two  of  this  type  in  France.  One  of  these  was  placed  in  October 
on  our  farm  colony  at  Bretouville,  the  other  at  Villeneuve-la-Huree  and  these 
two  tractors  proved  the  most  tremendous  success.  These  two  farms  which 
m  the  month  of  August  were  practically  in  an  abandoned  condition,  are  now 
entirely  ploughed  and  sown.  The  tractors  with  the  work  of  farm  horses  com¬ 
bined,  give  us  a  surface  of  : 

230  acres  in  Spring  wheat. 

150  acres  in  oats  and  rye. 

25  acres  in  cereal, 

Remainder  in  fodder,  potatoes,  pasture  and  wood. 


—  40  — 


\ 


41 


STORE  REAPY  FOR  CUSTOMERS 


•• 


o®  ©® 


••••* 


DECEMBER  1918. 


FIELD  ACTIVITIES  .  SOISSONS 


In  pursuance  of  our  understanding  with  the  Special  Bureau  for  Coordination 
of  (Euvres,  Ministry  of  Liberated  Regions,  as  expressed  at  the  meeting  m  No¬ 
vember,  we  opened  our  center  in  the  Canton  of  Soissons  in  December. 

One  of  the  least  injured  houses  in  Soissons,  belonging  to  Madame  Moreau- 
Ferte,  was  generously  put  at  our  disposal  and  repaired  for  us  by  German 
prisoners  on  the  order  of  the  Army. 


CHRISTMAS 

The  magnificent  response  of  our  American  supporters  to  the  Christmas 
appeal  of  the  American  Committee  for  Devastated  France  in  America,  combined 
with  the  fact  that  this  was  the  first  Christmas  in  four  years  in  which  the  true 
meaning  of  the  day  could  be  celebrated  by  the  American  Committee  in  France, 
inspired  us  to  make  it  a  real  victory  Christmas. 

Festivities  commenced  at  our  children’s  colony  at  Boullay-Thierry,  and 
Christmas,  1918,  will  live  as  a  never-to-be-forgotten  day.  Simultaneously  our 
group  at  Vic-sur-Aisne  started  on  a  two  week’s  round  of  Fetes  de  Noel  in  every 
village.  These  parties  were  attended  with  considerable  ceremony,  presided 
over  by  the  officials  of  the  district,  with  an  exchange  of  greetings  and  good-will 
in  the  true  spirit  of  the  season. 

Christmas  celebrations  at  Laon,  Soissons  and  our  farm  colonies  reached 
many  that  did  not  directly  fall  under  the  charge  of  the  American  Committee. 
It  is  estimated  that  over  7.200  children  were  made  happy  on  that  memorable  day. 


—  42  — 


JANUARY  1919. 


FIELD  ACTIVITIES  .  SOISSONS 


The  Soissons  branch  formally  opened  its  supply  depot  on  January  4th. 
The  city  of  Soissons  had  then  a  population  of  1 .000.  The  work  here  is  of  a 
different  character  than  that  in  our  Vic-sur-Aisne  branch.  It  was  not  necessary 
to  inaugurate  traveling  stores  from  this  branch  as  the  grocery  stores  were  opened 
in  Soissons  and  the  villages  are  near  enough  for  the  civilians  to  patronize  them. 
Therefore,  the  work  here  took  on  more  of  the  character  of  the  original  relief 
work  which  was  done  at  Blerancourt,  reinstating  people  in  their  homes,  supplying 
immediate  needs,  procuring  tools  and  seeds  for  their  gardens,  furnishing  their 
houses,  donating  tarred  paper  and  oiled  muslin,  encouraging  agricultural 
development,  and  solying  innumerable  problems,  individual  and  collective. 

Garden  seeds  and  tools  were  much  in  demand  at  our  various  centers  and 
purchases  of  these  in  great  number  were  made  during  this  month. 


INTERIOR  ACTIVITIES  -  FARM  COLONIES 


Over  500  acres  of  our  farms  were  inspected  by  the  Directors  of  Agriculture 
for  the  Government  in  each  Department,  who  congratulated  us  on  all  that  we 
had  accomplished  and  accorded  us  the  advances  provided  for  under  the  Compere- 
Morel  law.  We  were  the  first  foreign  organization  to  profit  under  this  act.  The 
Ministry  of  Agriculture  also  gave  to  the  Committee  five  plows. 

We  were  assured  of  the  continuing  need  of  our  work  by  a  letter  from  the 
Mimstere  de  la  Guerre,  of  which  the  following  is  a  translation  : 


MINISTERE  DE  LA  GUERRE 


CABINET 

du 

SOUS-SECRETAIRE  D’ETAT 


CONCOURS  ETRANGERS 


REPUBLIQUE  FRANCHISE 


Paris,  Ie  28  janvier  1919. 


Madame  la  Presidente, 

Following  the  conversations  with  you  and  with  Miss  Anne  Morgan,  Vice-President  of 
the  Comite  American  pour  les  Regions  devastees  de  la  France,  concerning  the  continuation! 


—  43  — 


-of  your  work  in  the  period  after  the  war  and  the  prolongation  during  this  period  of  the 
facilities  that  the  Sous-Secretaire  d’Etat  du  Service  de  Sante  has  been  happy  to  provide  you, 
I  have  the  honor  to  confirm  to  you  : 

1 .  That  there  is  no  question  of  suppressing  or  even  of  reducing  the  services  of  the 
Entrepot  des  Dons  du  Service  de  Sante.  Therefore  nothing  stands  in  the  way  of  the  Amer¬ 
ican  Committee  continuing  to  benefit  as  in  the  past  and  even  to  a  greater  extent,  should  you 
judge  it  desirable,  by  its  services,  its  means  of  communication,  its  transports,  etc. 

2.  Estimating  that  your  beneficent  activities  are  now  able  to  be  exercised  more  usefully 
than  ever  in  the  regions  now  liberated,  I  hasten  to  give  to  the  services  placed  under  my 
authority  in  these  regions  all  the  orders  that  you  may  judge  useful  in  order  that  the  services 
may  continue  to  lend  in  every  circumstance  their  support  to  your  work. 

1  am  happy  to  seize  this  occasion  to  express  to  you  anew  the  profound  gratitude  of  the 
French  Government  for  the  participation  so  devoted  and  generous  that  you  and  your  colla¬ 
borators  have  brought  to  the  reconstruction  of  the  French  countries  that  have  been  victims  of 
-the  invasion. 

Will  you  accept,  Madame  la  Presidente,  the  homage  cf  my  greatest  respect. 

(Signed)  MOURIER. 


In  January  1919,  the  American  Committee  became  interested  in  the  design 
known  as  the  Maison  Type.  This  was  drawn  by  Pierre  Sardou,  the  son  of  the 
well-known  dramatist  by  that  name,  and  himself  a  very  well-known  architect 
in  France.  During  the  war  M.  Sardou  was  engaged  in  the  Service  of  War 
Maps  attached  to  General  Mangm’s  Army  and  while  stationed  in  the  region  of 
Soissons  the  Government  asked  for  designs  of  typical  French  houses  destroyed 
in  the  Pays  Devastes.  M.  Sardou  made  a  careful  study  of  the  original  archi¬ 
tecture  of  Soissons  and  after  inspecting  the  stone  quarries  in  that  region  and  also 
the  small  farm  houses,  entered  a  competition  that  was  carried  on  under  the 
direction  of  the  Ecole  des  Beaux- Arts  and  won  first  prize. 

We  studied  this  design  with  the  purpose  in  mind  of  establishing  in  the  region 
of  Soissons  a  typical  farm  house,  which  might  be  placed  within  easy  reach  of  the 
entire  canton.  Pernant  was  the  site  chosen  for  the  construction  of  this  house- 
first,  because  it  is  within  easy  access  of  Soissons,  a  big  center,  and,  second,  be¬ 
cause  a  proprietor  of  Pernant,  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  American  Committee, 
made  a  very  generous  gift  of  10.000  francs  for  his  own  village  of  Pernant. 
This  proprietor  became  interested  in  the  project  of  the  American  Committee 
with  this  Maison  Type  as  a  center  of  education  and  recreation  for  his  village. 

It  was  first  proposed  that  we  should  ask  the  Mayor  and  Municipal  Council 
to  give  us  the  land  necessary  on  which  to  construct  it.  Every  commune,  however, 
has  not  free  land  at  its  disposal  and  here  again  the  proprietor  offered  us  his 
own  property  on  which  to  build  it. 

The  house  proper  in  the  design  will  be  used  to  lodge  a  district  nurse  or  m- 
structess  of  domestic  science,  who  will  give  the  children  of  the  village  lessons 
in  hygiene  and  domestic  science  and  the  boys  lessons  in  carpentry.  The  grange 
will  be  reserved  for  lessons  as  well  as  being  intended  for  recreation  for  the 
inhabitants  of  the  village,  being  open  certain  hours  for  reading,  writing,  cinema, 
concerts,  lectures  or  conferences,  the  idea  being  to  afford  some  center  of  local 
amusement  and  interest  to  replace  the  cabaret,  which  is  the  cause  of  so  much 
alcoholism  in  the  country. 

It  is  estimated  that  the  whole  plan  of  rural  farm  house  and  recreationTall 


—  44  — 


45 


BABY  CLINIC  AT  VIC-SUK-A1SNE 


will  probably  cost  about  50.000  francs  and  our  hope  is  to  reproduce  this  educa¬ 
tional  and  recreational  center  in  many  of  our  villages. 


AMERICAN  WOMEN'S  HOSPITAL 


The  American  Women  s  Hospital  in  January  opened  another  medical  hospi¬ 
tal  of  18  beds  at  La  Ferte-Milon.  A  unit  of  three,  consisting  of  a  doctor,  nurse 
and  chauffeur  was  established  here.  From  this  as  a  center  those  villages 
between  the  radius  covered  by  the  American  Women  s  Hospital  at  Luzancy 
and  the  villages  visited  by  the  doctors  of  the  American  Committee  at  Vic-sur- 
Aisne  are  covered  by  this  Unit  and  afford  proper  medical  care  for  the  serious 
cases  of  illness  in  that  region. 


> 


—  46  — 


FEBRUARY  1919. 


FIELD  ACTIVITIES  .  BLERANCOURT 


February  1919  was  a  memorable  month  for  the  American  Committee  for 
Devastated  France,  for  in  that  month  our  center  was  reestablished  in  Blerancourt. 
During  the  eleven  months  since  our  evacuation  in  March  1918,  we  had  gained 
a  profound  personal  knowlege  of  the  disastrous  effects  of  war  on  our  French 
peasants,  and  holding  the  vision  of  what  Blerancourt  had  meant  to  us,  as  well  as 
to  the  French  of  our  region,  we  strained  every  effort  to  keep  in  constant  commu¬ 
nication  with  the  needs  and  requirements  of  our  emigres,  confident  that  we  could 
and  would  rebuild  what  had  been  won  and  lost  on  a  stronger  and  more  lasting 
basis. 

We  obtained  German  prisoners  to  clear  the  streets  of  debris  and  to  carry 
away  broken  stone  and  refuse  from  the  ruins  of  houses  presenting  possibilities 
of  reparation.  The  former  town-crier  of  Blerancourt  offered  his  residence,  24 
rue  du  Chateau,  as  headquarters  for  the  center.  Temporary  repairs  were  made, 
giving  us  four  rooms,  and  for  a  warehouse  we  gladly  accepted  the  generous 
gift  of  an  aviation  tent  from  the  American  Army.  In  less  than  a  week  over  a 
hundred  inhabitants  had  returned  to  Blerancourt  and  about  the  same  number 
to  Camelin.  Every  day  brings  its  influx  of  large  numbers  of  inhabitants  who 
flock  to  the  American  Committee  for  assistance. 

After  investigation  we  found  three-fourths  of  .the  fruit  trees  planted  last 
year  by  our  Committee  still  standing. 

In  1917  this  Committee  purchased  a  large  barrack  containing  rooms  for  about 
ten  persons,  dining  room,  kitchen,  Ouvroir  and  space  for  a  warehouse  which 
was  held  in  storage  in  the  interior,  as  the  Government  provided  us  with  barracks 
for  the  personnel  and  we  had  no  use  for  it  at  that  time.  This  barrack  is  now 
to  be  constructed  on  the  site  of  the  old  chateau. 

The  records  of  the  families  made  by  the  American  Committee  in  the  winter 
of  1917-18  were  sent  to  each  center  as  it  reopened.  This  standardized 
system  of  records  will  continue. 


SOISSONS 


During  the  first  month  of  the  existence  of  the  Soissons  center  425  families 
were  investigated  and  household  necessities  and  clothing  distributed  to  the 
needy.  • 


—  47  — 


VIC-SUR'AISNE 


555  families  were  investigated,  18  stores  established  and  traveling  stores 
started  in  five  of  the  smaller  villages  where  only  three  or  four  families  had  return¬ 
ed  and  where  it  was  obvious  a  permanent  store  was  not  required.  It  would 
be  well  to  state  here  our  reasons  for  establishing  a  supplementary  ravitaillement 
in  this  region. 

Our  experience  at  Chateau-Thierry  had  taught  us  that  the  French  peasant 
prefers  to  purchase  an  article  he  wants  rather  than  be  given  an  article  he  doesn't 
want.  Our  traveling  stores  at  Chateau-Thierry,  therefore,  carried  in  stock 
such  articles  as  soap,  mattress  covers  and  household  utensils  that  were  not 
provided  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  Chateau-Thierry,  which  was  the 
center  of  ravitaillement  for  the  region.  Until  ordinary  transportation  facilities 
could  be  resumed  it  was  vital  that  ordinary  household  articles  and  food  should 
be  added  to  the  comforts  of  the  population.  As  quickly  as  the  Municipal  Coun¬ 
cil  of  each  village  had  arranged  for  the  resumption  of  normal  commerce,  the 
traveling  stores  of  the  American  Committee  were  no  longer  required.  With- 
this  in  mind  we  reopened  our  centers  at  Vic-sur-Aisne,  Soissons  and  Blerancourt- 
Soissons  in  1914  was  a  city  of  1 4.000  inhabitants .  Today  in  the  ruins  of  Soissons 
there  are  3.500  people,  but  as  it  is  a  city  on  a  railway  head  and  is  the  seat  of  the 
Sous-Prefecture  small  shops  quickly  sprang  into  existence  and  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  which  had  established  a  large  depot  there,  was  able  to  sell  food 
to  the  neighboring  villages  which  obviated  all  necessity  for  our  traveling  stores 
in  that  region. 

We  carried  in  our  own  supply  depot  at  Soissons  chiefly  household  utensils 
and  clothing.  Stocks  of  food  there  are  mainly  for  free  distribution.  We  have 
a  distinct  responsibility  —  deriving  from  the  fact  that  the  Government  gives 
us  free  transportation,  —  to  keep  those  articles  in  the  supply  depot  that  are 
mostly  in  demand  for  that  region. 

Our  center  at  Vic-sur-Aisne  is  not  so  fortunate.  This  village  is  situated 
on  the  limits  of  the  Department  and  in  the  heart  of  a  great  agricultural  belt.. 
Commerce,  therefore,  is  slow  to  revive.  The  Government  through  its  arrange¬ 
ment  with  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  has  foreseen  the  needs  of  the  people 
in  so  far  as  bread,  rice,  coffee,  sugar,  frozen  meat,  and  a  limited  quantity  of 
tinned  vegetables  or  meats  are  concerned.  But  man  cannot  live  by  this  alone 
and  our  system  of  stores  was  therefore  worked  out  in  the  following  way. 

Through  the  Ministry  of  Ravitaillement  we  were  able  to  purchase  at  wholesale 
prices.  The  supplies  are  transported  free  to  Vic-sur-Aisne  but  from  that  point 
the  transportation  of  supplies  is  a  free  gift  of  the  American  Committee.  A 
delegate  is  appointed  by  the  Mayor  of  the  village  who  becomes  the  recipient 
of  the  supplementary  stock  of  the  American  Committee  and  is  permitted  to 
sell  the  same  at  a  ten  percent  profit.  This  prevents  exploitation  and  is  carried 
by  the  American  Committee  only  until  such  time  as  the  former  grocer  or  grocers 
of  the  village  can  reestablish  themselves. 

In  1917  the  conditions  were  different  from  those  of  today.  Since  the  signing 
of  the  armistice  the  Government  has  passed  various  new  laws  in  the  interests 
of  the  population  of  the  devastated  area.  It  is  obvious  that  our  duty  clearljr 
lies  in  aiding  and  encouraging  the  recognition  of  such  laws.  If  we  instituted 
a  policy  of  free  distribution  or  even  gave  as  freely  as  we  did  in  March  1917  at 
Blerancourt  when  we  were  still  at  war,  we  would  be  acting  directly  against  the 
interests  of  France.  * 


—  48  — 


49 


A  TRAVELING  STORE 


By  personal  investigation  of  every  family  certain  ones  fall  into  the  category 
of  needy  families,  to  whom  we  distribute  clothing,  household  articles,  trade  tools 
and  as  is  often  the  case  supplement  the  table  by  generous  gifts  of  food.  Our* 
service  of  supplementary  ravitaillement  undoubledly  has  aided  in  the  reorgani¬ 
zation  of  local  life.  We  also  act  as  intermediaries  between  the  Committee  and 
the  authorities  and  are  often  called  upon  to  interpret  the  laws  to  the  people. 

By  a  decree  issued  by  the  Ministry  of  the  Liberated  Regions  on  November 
2nd,  1918,  the  individual  who  has  suffered  a  loss  of  furniture  is  allowed  an  ad¬ 
vance  of  two  hundred  dollars  to  the  head  of  the  family  and  forty  dollars  for  every 
other  member  of  the  family.  In  the  absence  of  furniture  shops  and  the  lack 
of  transportation  our  Committee  sells  at  cost  price,  beds,  bedding  and  essentials 
of  household  articles.  A  receipt  is  given  to  the  person  and  after  he  is  reim¬ 
bursed  by  the  State,  he  in  turn  reimburses  the  American  Committee. 

There  is  also  a  law  permitting  advances  to  the  amount  of  six  hundred  dollars 
for  trade  tools.  This  we  treat  in  the  same  way.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
the  supporting  member  of  our  families,  has  in  the  majority  of  cases  been  a  civi¬ 
lian  prisoner  for  the  last  four  years  and  is  unaware  of  the  existence  of  these  laws. 
The  Mayors  are  not  always  present  and  there  is  no  one  in  authority  to  explain 
his  status  to  him.  We  are  often  appealed  to  by  our  people  to  obtain  unpaid 
pensions,  to  have  explosives  extracted  from  the  fields,  to  have  houses  patched, 
to  have  school  teachers  recalled,  schools  furnished  and  opened,  sick,  healed, 
children’s  classes  formed,  focd  obtained  and  commerce  started  and  promoted. 


AMERICAN  WOMEN'S  HOSPITA^ 


The  American  Women’s  Hospital  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  Prefecture 
and  the  civilian  doctor  at  Laon,  established  a  unit  of  doctor,  nurse  and  chauffeur 
at  Laon.  This  unit  opened  a  dispensary  covering  some  twelve  villages. 


REVIVING  FARMERS  COOPERATIVES 


The  evacuation  of  1917  disseminated  the  members  of  the  five  farmers 
Cooperatives  established  in  our  region.  The  condition  of  the  soil  at  present  is 
deplorable.  We  have  not  yet  obtained  any  relief  from  the  Technical  Service 
of  Reconstruction  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Liberated  Regions,  which  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  putting  the  soil  back  into  condition  for  use.  The  Coopera¬ 
tive  of  Juvigny  which  in  1917  comprised  2.500  acres  is  being  aided  by  the 
American  Committee  in  its  desire  to  revive  this  Cooperative,  although  it  can 
only  plough  with  security  about  500  acres.  We  are  helping  in  the  reestablish¬ 
ment  of  this  Cooperative  ;  first,  by  assuming  the  obligation  of  the  wages  of  the 
farm  hands,  until  such  time  as  the  advances  by  the  Government  to  which 
they  are  entitled  have  been  made  ;  second,  by  securing  and  mounting  two 
demountable  barracks  for  housing  purposes  ;  and  third,  by  offering  tractors 
for  tilling  the  soil. 

In  conjunction  with  this  we  are  opening  a  depot  at  Soissons  where  we  are 


—  50  — 


sending  fodder  from  our  interior  farm  colonies  to  be  sold  through  the  Coopera 
tive  at  Juvigny.  Although  the  Army  has  demobilized  thousands  of  horses  and 
has  placed  them  at  the  disposal  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Liberated  Regions,  who  is 
offering  them  to  the  farmers  of  that  district,  the  latter  are  unable  to  avail  them¬ 
selves  of  this  opportunity  because  they  cannot  secure  for  them  the  necessary 
fodder.  As  quickly  as  the  Government  has  cleaned  the  soil  of  explosives  and 
barbed  wire,  and  leveled  the  trenches  in  any  part  of  the  region  where  we  have 
created  Farmers  Cooperatives  we  are  ready  to  reorganize  them  and  as  far  as 
possible  to  aid  in  stocking  them  with  implements,  machines  and  cattle. 

In  preparation  for  summer  ploughing  we  have  purchased  25  Fordson  tractors 
and  4  Cleveland  tractors  which  will  be  loaned  or  rented  to  the  Cooperative 
societies  or  sold  to  individuals  through  the  Societe  Mandataire  of  the  Depart¬ 
ment  of  the  Aisne,  which  is  exceedingly  anxious  to  secure  their  distribution. 


—  51 


MARCH  1919. 


FIELD  ACTIVITIES  -  LAON 


The  vestiaire  established  in  Laon  to  meet  civilian  prisoners  and  refugees 
gives  the  following  statistics  : 

From  the  15th  of  January  to  the  1st  of  April  7,409  men,  women  and  children 
aided. 

Clothing  distributed  28,  338  articles. 

At  the  request  of  the  Prefecture  our  Committee  is  relinquishing  this  vestiaire 
because  of  the  recent  arrival  of  members  of  French  Committees,  in  whose 
hands  this  charge  is  to  be  vested,  and  our  group  has  been  asked  to  extend  their 
work  to  the  sector  north  of  Laon  and  outlined  by  the  Prefecture  for  investigation. 

123,  256  articles  have  been  distributed  for  the  Prefecture  and  1 .535  garments 
for  the  C.R.B. 

We  commenced  distributing  for  the  Commission  for  Relief  in  Belgium  at 
their  request.  Excerpt  from  their  letter  follows  : 

36  bis,  Avenue  de  l’Opera, 


Paris,  19  February,  1919. 


EXECUTIVE  N°  544 

Mrs.  Dike ,  President ,  American  Committee  for  Devastated  France 
15,  Boulevard  Lanne s,  PARIS. 


Dear  Madam, 

In  making  an  investigation  of  territory  in  the  region  of  the  Marie  and  Laon  to^  arrange 
for  the  distribution  of  clothing  to  the  civil  population,  the  Commission  found  that  members  of 
your  unit  had  gotten  themselves  so  thoroughly  in  touch  with  the  needs  of  their  territory  that 
the  distribution  of  clothing  by  the  Prefecture  had  been  turned  over  to  them,  and  it  was 
determined  also  that  the  Commission  with  your  concurrence  would  make  use  of  their  services 
in  that  districtTor  distributing  the  clothing  of  the  Committee  of  Ravitaillement. 

Yours  faithfully, 

(Signed)  M.  B.  POLAND, 

Director  for  Europe  Commission  for  Relief 
in  Belgium  and  Northern  France 


—  52  — 


55 


HOMES  OF  REPATRIATED  REFUGEES 


AMERICAN  WOMEN'S  HOSPITAL 


During  this  month  the  Army  demobilized  many  of  its  doctors  in  the  neigh¬ 
borhood  of  Luzancy.  Therefore,  the  American  Women’s  Hospital  by  arran¬ 
gement  made  through  the  Service  de  Sante,  Ministere  de  la  Guerre,  and  autho¬ 
rized  by  the  Prefecture  of  the  Department  is  moving  its  plant  to  Blerancourt 
into  barracks  to  be  constructed  by  the  Army. 

The  Commission  for  Relief  in  Belgium  has  asked  for  the  cooperation  of 
the  American  Women’s  Hospital  in  the  outlying  territory  of  Laon  and  arran¬ 
gements  are  being  made  for  a  traveling  doctors’  unit,  in  addition  to  the  perma¬ 
nent  base  at  Blerancourt.  Everyone  entertains  grave  fears  of  possible  outbreaks 
of  epidemics  this  summer  and  in  anticipation  the  American  Women’s  Hospital 
is  preparing  a  prophylactic  campaign. 


BLERANCOURT,  VICTSUR^AISNE,  SOISSONS 


One  of  the  greatest  needs  of  the  devastated  region  is  that  of  chickens.  This 
month  1 .700  chickens  (two  carloads)  were  purchased  and  distributed.  Because 
of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  chickens,  —  the  supply  being  so  far  below  the 
demand,  —  we  have  established  at  our  farms  at  Bretouville  and  Villeneuve-la- 
Huree,  two  chicken  farms  capable  of  producing  2.000  chickens  each  month. 
A  small  unit  of  250  chickens  is  installed  at  Vic-sur-Aisne.  Our  first  hatch  of 
105  chickens  was  announced  the  10th  cf  March. 

«  Winston  Salem  Rolling  Kitchen  ».  Special  emphasis  has  been  given  in  the 
past  to  the  feeding  of  children,  which  under  the  conditions  has  been  a  problem. 
We  are  trying  an  experiment  of  school  canteens  for  which  purpose  we  are  using 
the  Winston  Salem  Rolling  Kitchen  to  provide  hot  soup  or  chocolate  to  the 
school  children.  Many  children  are  forced  to  walk  miles  to  school.  They  bring 
with  them  merely  a  crust  of  bread  for  lunch.  If  this  experiment  proves  a  success 
we  shall  try  to  provide  all  the  schools  with  hot  fortifying  midday  soup  or  a  meal. 


TEMPORARY  OR  OTHER  REPAIRS  TO  BUILDINGS 


It  may  be  well  to  state  here  the  policy  of  the  Government  in  regard  to  questions 
of  reconstruction.  Under  the  Ministry  of  the  Liberated  Regions,  a  Technical 
Service  of  Reconstruction  was  organized  <nd  divided  into  two  categories  — 
first,  the  provisional  and  emergency  repairs  ;  second,  permanent  rebuilding. 
In  the  first  category  the  question  of  paramount  importance  is  the  one  of  barracks. 
At  the  date  of  writing,  in  our  three  sectors  it  has  been  impossible  to  obtain  any 
barracks  ;  therefore  we  are  obliged  to  fall  back  upon  the  service  of  provisional 
and  emergency  repairs. 

Many  carpenters,  masons,  roofers  and  plumbers,  either  demobilized  soldiers 
or  civilian  prisoners,  are  now  returning  to  the  devastated  region  without  tools  or 
materials  except  such  as  can  be  salvaged  from  the  trenches.  To  each  commune 
or  village  the  Prefecture  has  allocated  a  small  quantity  of  tar  paper  or  oiled  muslin 
but  without  tools  even  the  most  willing  worker  is  unable  to  porfit  by  this  gift. 


—  54  — 


It  was  impossible  for  the  American  Committee  to  remain  idle  while  these  men 
were  vainly  seeking  employment.  We,  therefore,  bought  the  necessary  supplies 
in  Paris  —  cement,  white  wash,  tools,  nails,  ladders, etc.,  and  put  an  equipe  of 
men  to  work  at  once  on  repairs.  The  Technical  Service  of  Reconstruction  for 
the  Department  of  the  Aisne  has  now  arranged  with  the  American  Committee 
that  an  equipe,  similar  to  that  which  we  have  in  Blerancourt  be  organized  in 
every  village.  The  Government  agreed  to  supply  the  materials,  the  procedure 
being  that  the  request  of  each  proprietor  to  have  his  house  repaired  should 
be  attached  to  an  estimate  of  the  approximate  cost  of  repairs  and  counter-signed 
by  the  Mayor.  It  is  then  sent  to  the  Technical  Service  of  Reconstruction  and 
the  amount  credited  against  the  proprietor  s  war  indemnity.  The  advances 
made  by  the  American  Committee  for  labor  and  supplies  are  reimbursed  by 
that  Service. 

Plans  for  the  rebuilding  and  rehabilitation  of  France  are  still  in  the  formative 
stage.  The  process  of  rebuilding  will  be  slow  and  rightly  so,  if  France  is  to  be 
restored  to  the  French.  After  a  successful  major  operation,  we  do  not  put  our 
patient  immediately  on  a  rich  or  even  plentiful  plain  diet  and  France’s  wounds 
are  very  deep. 

During  five  years  of  war,  men  and  women  have  been  uprooted  from  their 
homes,  living  from  day  to  day  under  cruel  conditions  and  the  most  heartrending 
anxiety.  As  a  result  the  race  and  especially  these,  the  real  victims  of  the  war, 
are  exhausted.  We  must  give  them  time  to  catch  their  breath  and  in  time  the 
marvelous  energy  and  courage  of  the  French  will  have  found  a  solution  to  this 
stupendous  problem.  Surely  our  responsibility  on  these  battlefields,  over 
which  we  fought  to  defend  our  own  ideals  does  not  cease  until  that  solution  is 
found 


Commissioner  in  France. 


—  55  — 


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Caissier  de  la  Banque  de  France. 


g.  -sg  <sg>  <% 

»••••*  a  ••«»*•  A  *••••*  A  *••••*  A  *••»»•  a  *••••*  s 


STATISTICAL  SUMMARY 


The  American  Commitee  for  Devastated  France  has  under  its  care  the 
Canton  of  Coucy-le-Chateau,  which  includes  32  communes  representing  a 
population  before  the  war  of  15,395,  and  an  area  of  25,265  hectares  or  approx¬ 
imately  63,162  acres  ;  the  Canton  of  Soissons,  which  includes  19  communes, 
representing  a  population  before  the  war  of  25,081  and  an  area  of  13,042  hec¬ 
tares  or  approximately  32,605  acres  ;  the  Canton  of  Vic-sur-Aisne,  which 
includes  26  communes  representing  a  population  before  the  war  of  10,039  and 
an  area  of  21,823  hectares  or  approximately  54,557  acres. 

Communes  Population  before  War  Area  covered 

Total  :  77  50,515  Hect.  60.130.  Acres,  150,324 

FIELD  ACTIVITIES  —  CIVILIAN  RELIEF 

Articles  of 

No.  People  Aided  Articles  of  Clothing  Household  Furnishings 

12,953  42,853  9,390 

In  addition  -  123,256  articles  distributed  for  the  Prefecture 

and  1,535  garments  for  the  Commission  for  Relief  in  Belgium 
and  Northern  France. 

MEDICAL  WORK 

•  Medical  Staff  of  Committee.  —  Aug.  1918-April  1919  : 


Patients 

Villages 

House 

Visits 

Dispensary 

Visits 

Medical 

Centers 

Soldiers 

Attended 

2,273 

135 

4,449 

3,223 

23 

710 

—  58  — 


59 


TEMPORARY  SCHOOL  ERECTED  IN  FORTY  EIGHT  HOURS  IN  STABLES  IN  VILLAGE  OF  CAMELIN 


American  Women’s  Hospital —  July,  1918 -April,  1919 

House  Dispensary  Medical  Soldiers  Hospital 

Patients  Villages  Visits  Visits  Centers  Attended  Cases 

Luzancy .  425 

2.770  59  3,626  3,344  21  La  Ferte-Milon  66 

5,043  194  8,075  6,567  44  710  491 

Of  the  total  of  491  Hospital  Cases,  254  were  Surgical  Cases. 

425  Dental  Cases  were  reported  in  Dental  Department. 


CANTEEN  WORK 

Canteens  were  established  in  June-July,  1918,  in  45  cantonments,  serving 
257,130  soldiers,  5,230  of  whom  were  wounded  cared  for. 

In  Aug.  1919,  10,000  soldiers  were  served  in  one  canteen. 

No  record  was  kept  of  the  number  served  in  several  canteens  opened  in 
villages  in  the  Chateau-Thierry  sector,  nor  in  the  children’s  canteen  opened 
every  day,  nor  in  harvest  canteens  in  the  same  sector.  Also,  owing  to  the 
pressure  of  events,  no  record  was  kept  of  the  thousands  of  soldiers  served 
during  retreats  in  1918. 

At  Laon  during  eight  weeks  of  canteen  service  for  returning  prisoners, 
9,227  men  were  served  and  about  700  ill  prisoners. 

ENTREPOT 

During  the  summer  of  1918,  68,000  articles  were  given  to  refugees  and 
680  packages  sent  by  post  to  refugees. 

Total  of  assorted  cases  and  bales  received  from  America  from  May  1, 
1918,  to  April  1,  1919:  4,003.  Also  2  tractors,  1  rolling  kitchen  and  9  auto¬ 
mobiles. 


OUVROIR 


From  July  1918  to  April  1919,  J  156  refugee  workers  were  employed  ; 
26,260  articles  were  made,  the  approximate  value  being  337,842  francs. 


CHILDREN'S  COLONY 

87  children  are  being  cared  for  and  educated,  of  whom  14  have  been 
adopted  by  people  in  America  at  a  cost  of  $  400  a  year. 

FARMS 

250  acres  in  Spring  wheat. 

150  acres  in  oats  and  rye. 

25  acres  in  cereal. 

Remainder  in  fodder,  potatoes,  pasture  and  wood. 


—  60  — 


61 


IN  THE  ATELIER  OF  THE  EQUIPE  AT  BLERANCOURT 


BOARD  OF  ADMINISTRATION 

IN  FRANCE 


Mrs.  A.  M.  DIKE,  Commissioner  in  France  ; 
Miss  Anne  MORGAN,  Vice-President ; 

Mr.  J.  RIDGELEY  CARTER,  Treasurer. 


PARIS  OFFICE 

Mrs.  Frederick  Allen 
Miss  Lucile  Atcherson 
Miss  Mary  A.  Berry 

*  M.  O.  C.  Biardot 

Mme  la  Comt"‘  de  Bremond  d’Ars 
Miss  Jessie  Carson 

*  Miss  Elizabeth  Delafield 
Miss  Celine  Garney 

*  Miss  Kate  L.  Hayden 
Mr.  Walter  P.  Magee 

Mrs.  Henry  Beach  Needham 

*  Miss  Gertrude  H.  Partridge 

*  Mrs.  Valentine  Schuyler 

PARIS  ENTREPOT 

Miss  Ruby  L.  Archambeau 

M.  Paul  Archinard 

Miss  Elizabeth  S.  Loveland 

*  Miss  Sue  K.  Watson 

(Mrs  George  S.  Stockley) 

Mrs  Robert  L.  Pierrepont 

*  Mr.  H.  P.  Williams 

PARIS  OUVROIR 

Miss  Amelia  Kohlsaat 
Miss  Laura  A.  Smith 
Miss  Elsie  E.  Wilcox 


FIELD  CENTERS 

Blerancourt : 

*  Miss  Flora  Bewick 
Miss  Miriam  Blagden 

*  Miss  Helen  Colt 

*  Miss  Gertrude  Folks 

*  Miss  Georgina  Grant 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Hamm 

Miss  Margaretta  S.  Hinchman 
Miss  Alice  Meunier 

*  Miss  Margaret  Moore 

(Mrs.  Richard  Hevenor) 

*  Miss  Rosalie  Moran 

*  Miss  Mary  Virginia  Peyton 
iMrs.  Ella  M.  Taylor 

*  Miss  May  Toovey 
Miss  Mary  L.  Turner 

*  Miss  Florence  Wright 

*  Miss  Edna  Winslow 

Chateau-Thierry  : 

*  Miss  Joan  R.  Michler 

*  Miss  Helen  Me  Carthy-  Morrogb 

*  Miss  Carolyn  B.  Mountain 

*  Miss  Elizabeth  Smith 

*  Miss  Emily  Smith 

*  Miss  Maegaret  Stevenson 

*  Miss  Mary  F.  Watkins 


62 


Laon  : 

Miss  Cara  Burch 

*  Miss  Ethel  M.  Colgate 
Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Eames 
Mrs.  Marie  B.  Kittredge 

*  Mrs.  Frances  C.  Platt 
Miss  Helen  Seton 
Miss  Muriel  Valentine 

Soissons  : 

Miss  Barbara  Allen 

Miss  Anna  P.  Bond 

Miss  Francis  Cassidy 

Miss  Rose  Dolan 

Miss  Caroline  Duer 

Mrs.  Florence  Bayard  Hillis 

Miss  Edith  Kohlsaat 

Miss  Helen  V.  Latrobe 

Mrs.  Marie  C.  Lehr 

Vic-sur-Aisne  : 

Miss  Louise  J.  Barney 
Miss  Marian  Bennett 
Miss  Esther  Braley 
Miss  Rosemary  Clarke 
Miss  Dorothy  Cordley 
Miss  Lucy  Hewitt 
Dr.  Maude  Kelly 


Miss  Alice  Parsons 

Miss  Margaret  Parsons 

Dr.  Alice  W.  Tallant 

Mrs.  Mary  BreckinridgeThompson 

Miss  Catherine  Van  Rensellaer 

*  Miss  Jessie  Wilkinson 

CHILDREN’S  COLONY 

Boullay-Thierry  : 

Miss  Mary  C.  Breen 
Miss  Elizabeth  Deming 

Miss  Ada  Milne  (loaned  by  “  Jardin 
d’Enfants  Unit  ”). 

Mrs.  Lewis  Washington 

Mrs.  Arthur  W.  Wylde 

M.  G  vulier 

Mme.  Gaulier 

Mme.  Aubriot 

Mile.  Renee  Charpentier 

AGRICULTURAL  UNIT: 

*  Miss  Elizabeth  Baker 

*  Mrs.  Jane  B.  Baum 

*  Miss  Frances  Polk  Dillon 

*  Miss  Margaret  Eaglesfield 

*  Miss  Sylvia  D.  Hitch 

*  Miss  Mary  Rutherford  Jay 

*  Mrs.  Gertrude  H.  Leonard 


(')  Have  completed  their  term  of  service  with  the  Committee. 


THE  FOLLOWING  DECORATIONS  HAVE  BEEN  CONFERRED  : 

CROIX  DE  GUERRE  WITH  PALM  ;  GRANDE  MEDAILLE  D'ARGENT, 
ACADEMIE  D'AGRICULTURE  DE  FRANCE;  MEDAILLE  DE  MERITE 
AGRICOLE,  TO  : 

Mrs.  A.  M.  Dike 
Miss  Anne  Morgan 


CROIX  de  GUERRE  WITH  STAR  TO:  MEDAILLE  D'HONNEUR  TO 

Miss  Miriam  Blagden  Mrs.  Marie  C.  Lehr 

Miss  Barbara  Allen  Miss  Helen  V.  Latrobe 

Miss  Rose  Dolan 

Mrs.  Richard  Hevenor  - 

Miss  Muriel  Valentine 
Dr.  Alice  W.  Tallant 
Dr.  Maude  Kelly 


—  63  — 


Imp.  Kossuth  &  Cie  Paris. 


